


Beatrice Santello - Part 2

by Bluedraggy



Series: Beatrice Santello (series) [2]
Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Other, Unofficial Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-08-11 15:02:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 38,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20155534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluedraggy/pseuds/Bluedraggy
Summary: I said I was going to write a sequel, and it's time to do that. So, here goes! No idea how long this will be, but it should be a fun ride because - unlike the prequel - I can go anywhere I want and end up anywhere. But to be clear, I do have a structure and end planned. I just get to know where that end is and you don't!  :) (yet)As before, I'll probably throw some images in, because I like images. Some might be R rated or so, but like my writing I never go full hard core. Just a little naughty. This first one is from the artist known as Suirano.





	1. Under the Eyes of Arnold Applebaum

The glow from her cigarette lit her naked body before the eyes of Mr. Applebaum. She wasn’t really feeling horny tonight, just a little naughty and the warm spring air was wonderful against her scales. She’d just made a nice sale at the Ol’ Pickaxe and was feeling unusually cheerful tonight. On the edges of her mind, the gloomy thoughts were lurking, of course. Her mom, Casey, the cult, crushing debt that could never be paid off - all lingered, waiting for her to give them a moment of attention. The sale was a drop in the bucket, but she’d learned to savor the little drops whenever she could, so she kept the gloom away.

Still, it was springtime, and even the horrible events of the Black Goat had faded. Possum Springs carried on. The newspaper had said there was a terrible accident at an abandoned mine, and several members of a Possum Springs fraternity had died in the collapse, but there was no mention of the Black Goat, nor Mae’s or anyone else’s involvement - or of Germ’s dynamite for that matter. Casey’s body had never been recovered. In fact, no mention of the Pit or the cult’s murders had even come up. All in all, it was the expected outcome, given the circumstances and small-town folk’s tendency to ignore things that were too uncomfortable to look at deeply.

And so life went on. Inertia was a hell of a thing to stop. People were horrified of the deaths, but no mention of any connection to missing people was made. Bea suspected Mae’s aunt Molly knew a lot more than she was letting on, but if so she must have understood not to push it. Or maybe she was just as dumb as the police are always made out to be. But Bea didn’t think so.

A warm breeze wafted in through the windows, stirring the shades with the scent of spring and perhaps a bit of gator girl. She wasn’t worried about it. Her father was snoring away, and there were no buildings opposite hers on the street, so no one was going to be peeping at her save the stone eyes of Mr. Applebaum.

She did let one thought of Casey in then. He had found her attractive enough obviously. She’d seen ample proof of that first hand. It was odd, she thought. This body that she’d always thought of as so weird, with scaley smooth skin, had somehow managed to evoke thoughts of love and lust in the poor drug-addled guy. Maybe there was hope for her yet in that department. 

She laughed a little. Mae. Yeah, she probably would be into her. But Mae didn’t count. She was… well. Mae had problems. 

Bea had no doubt of her own sexuality. She was hetero through-and-through. But Mae was such a broken girl. It would seem so wrong to even consider that - like hitting on a kid or something. She had recovered from… whatever it was that had almost killed her a year ago, but she was still broken. Little things would come up, or she would start talking about her ‘shapes’.

Bea had done some research into Mae’s condition. Dissociative disorder of some sort, surely. And, in a way, Bea felt like she could understand a little. To suddenly see a person not as a whole, but as separate things - to lose the concept of the other. She’d never felt it herself, but she could understand conceptually. Yet these episodes almost never happened when she was with her core friends - except during the Black Goat incident of course. But that didn’t count. That was… exceptional.

And, to be perfectly honest, Bea liked the insane cat. A lot. Maybe a little tiny bit more than just as a friend. But never, ever would she let Mae cross that line. Well, not unless someday she was confident Mae was stable again anyway. 

Bea took another drag on the cigarette and directed the exhale towards Mr. Applebaum.

“She needs me,” she explained to the concrete.

And, really, she probably did. If Mae fucked up around the Ol’ Pickaxe a little - like today - it was rarely anything big. Bea had hired her to do odd jobs around the place. At least it gave the runt some relief from the boredom of no life at all. With Angus and Gregg leaving soon, she’d need that even more. She wasn’t as good as Germ, and Bea would never leave her alone at the Pickaxe, but she could still do odd jobs around the place.

Another breeze blew in, and with it a silhouette climbed in the window.

“Hi Bea!”

Bea was too shocked to even think about covering herself.

“Mae!” she hissed.

“Oh! Do you sleep naked too? I guess you don’t have to worry about mosquitoes and stuff this high up.”

“How did you get up here?!”

“Power lines. Yeah, it’s nice up here,” Mae said as she took off her own clothes and snuggled up beside Bea.

“Mae! What?”

“Oh. Sorry. Nightmare. You said I could come over anytime though, right?”

Bea had said that, she reminded herself. If she hadn’t expected Mae to take her up on it, she shouldn’t have said it.

“Yeah, it’s okay,” Bea nodded, moving to give her friend a little more room, and caught herself looking at Mae’s body for a moment before she realized what she was doing. 

“What was the nightmare?”

“I dreamed Casey was trying to tell me something. He was down in the hole, and he was… very dead. But he was trying to talk. But he didn’t have a tongue… oh Bea, it was awful!”

Bea took the poor thing in her arms, nudity be damned. 

“Do you think it was… the Goat?”

“No. It was just a normal nightmare. But it seemed so real, Bea. I think the Goat is dead. Or at least gone.”

“What do you think it meant?” asked Bea quietly, drawing back and looking at her friend, now noticing Mae’s tear-stained eyes. 

“I think he wants us to get him out, Bea.”

Bea shivered involuntarily, but she’d had similar thoughts - if not actual dreams. Casey’s parents still thought he was just missing and still were hoping for some news of him. News that would never come.

“Oh Mae, I think you might be right. But how on earth could we possibly do that? I heard the whole mine has collapsed.”

“They got the cultist’s bodies out. They must have gotten that far in.”

“But the hole - who knows how far down it goes?”

Mae lay back and stared at the ceiling for a while, and Bea lit another cigarette.

“That’s not good for you,” Mae said quietly.

“Walking on power lines after midnight isn’t either.”

“True.”

Minutes passed before Mae spoke again.

“Casey knows.”

Bea turned to look at Mae again. “Knows what?”

“Casey knows how far down it goes.”

“Mae, Casey is dead.”

Mae turned to Bea again and allowed herself to be hugged. A thought passed through Bea’s mind. “Why is it that I’m comforting you, Mae? Who hugs me? Who brings me comfort?”

But as soon as it arose, she pushed it away. That was just selfishness. Her friend needed her, and she wanted to help.

“You sure you’re hetero?” Mae asked from between Bea’s breasts.

“Yup. 100%. Sorry Mae.”

The cat sighed. “Figures.”

“Well, at least that way you don’t have to worry about me taking advantage of you, right?”

“That’s the problem. Can I stay here anyway, Bea?”

“Sure. But… maybe we should get some clothes on?”

“Na. I like it like this. You’re squishier than I thought you’d be. And warmer.”

“Thanks,” Bea said, pulling a long drag on her cigarette before snuffing it out in the ashtray.

Eventually Mae fell asleep, her head on top of Bea’s arm. But Bea couldn’t sleep.

“Consider yourself lucky, Mr. Applebaum. You get to peep at two nubile young women sleeping naked in front of you instead of just one,” she thought to herself. “Don’t expect anything more tonight.”

She looked at the sleeping form of Mae beside her and thought of Casey. He was the last person she’d ever slept with. She’d been uncomfortable as hell with Casey. She wasn’t uncomfortable with Mae, unexpected as this visit was. Maybe that was the problem. She still thought of Mae as the kid they both used to be. They’d certainly seen each other naked often enough over the years - before they’d grown apart. And now they were back together again - best available friends. Bea knew Mae would like to be more than friends, but that wasn’t going to happen.

Still, she thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep, Mae was - in a feline and terribly mammalian way - a very pretty cat. A few extra pounds on her frame maybe, but still. If she were so inclined… yeah, she could see the attraction.

Mr. Applebaum watched over the two sleeping girls - nay women - as they slept, and nothing disturbed them until Bea’s alarm went off in the morning. Who’s to say that his ever-watchful eyes didn’t protect them that night? They were not attacked by lions.


	2. More Naughties and an Unwelcome Customer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I had to include this image by Frist44. It's technically SFW, though I don't think I'd advise pinning it to your cubicle. And like all good stories, it's front-loaded with fanservice lewd. :)

The dawn sunlight crept into the window slowly and Bea opened one eye. Mae was curled up in a fetal position, her back against Bea’s stomach and she realized that - technically speaking - they were spooning. But she just smiled as she gingerly wriggled down to the foot of the bed and drew the window closed. It was pretty chilly.

“Nice view!” Mae said from behind her.

“Mae! Don’t look at me like that!”

“Only part I could see! Say, can we take a bath together like the old days?”

“Jeeze Mae, I think we’re a bit too old for that by now, don’t you?”

Mae shrugged. “Well, it’s either that or be late to work I expect. Or I could give myself a tongue bath. Maybe you'd like to watch?”

“Mae! Don’t… well. Okay, I guess. But I’m not washing your ass or anything weird like that. Don’t get any ideas.”

“Already have em. But don’t worry. I promise i won’t rape you.”

The bath was, frankly, awkward as hell for Bea. Appendages found themselves in unaccustomed places and the bath was far too small for two fully grown women. But Mae seemed to have a good time, and it was nice to see her smiling again. Like she used to. So Bea just swallowed her pride and tried not to stare too much.

“Hi Mr. Santello!” Mae said cheerily to her dad as they came into the little kitchenette and sat at the small table a while later.

“Mae! I thought I heard a familiar voice in the bathroom. A sleepover?”

“Yeah. I had a bad dream last night and Bea kept me company.”

“Well, I’d better put a couple more eggs on!”

“Thanks Mr. Santello.”

“Got some mulch coming in today, Dad. Mae and Germ are going to help me set up the display.”

“Ah. Yeah, it’s time for mulch for sure. You want me to come in?”

“Thanks, but no. We can handle it.”

“Okay. I’ll clean up around the place later.”

“I put a bunch of towels around the bathroom floor. We kinda made a mess. Don’t want it leaking down to Mrs. Jamerson’s apartment downstairs.”

“No problem. I’ll get them dried later with the other laundry.”

A few minutes later, Mae and Bea had plates set before them and they both set about devouring them eagerly. Mr. Santello sat in the other chair with them, looking back and forth.

“Oh, it does me good to see you two together again. I remember when Mae used to stay over all the time. Back in the old house of course.”

“It was nice,” Mae agreed between bites. “But this is good too!”

“Free food always tastes best,” Bea noted with a little sarcasm, but if Mae picked up on it, she didn’t show it and just nodded agreement.

“Free food I don’t have to cook!”

“Ah, it’s our pleasure, right Bea?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“How are the flower sales going? Seems like they should be getting really popular now.”

“Pretty good, but some of the petunias are dying already,” Bea replied with a dark look on her face. “I’m not sure we got a very good delivery from the nursery on those.”

“You want me to have a talk with them? There’s plenty of other suppliers you know.”

“Na, I’ll talk to them.”

The two Santellos talked on for a bit about the Pickaxe, and then Bea stood up.

“Well, we’ve got to get going Dad. See you tonight,” she said as she hugged her father and he kissed her.  
Mae took Bea’s hand as they left the apartment and began the short walk to the pickaxe.

“Mae! Jeeze, we just slept together and took a bath together! You want a fucking ring?”

“Hold my hand or I’ll take to the high wires.”

“That’s extortion.”

“Yup!”

Bea held Mae’s hand all the way. Germ was waiting at the door.

“Good morning, Bea,” said the little bird.

“Morning Germ!” Mae said cheerfully.

“Hey Germ. Sorry we’re late. Mae slept over last night.”

“No problem. Nobody here yet.”

The day passed pretty uneventfully, all things considered with Mae in the Pickaxe. A bag of mulch got ripped and spilled on the floor, but she cleaned it up without having to be told and even bagged it so Bea could still sell it at a bit of a discount. Her apology was immediate and sincere.

“It happens,” Bea said, trying her level best not to even imply the thought that immediately finished the sentence, “especially with you around.”

“Hey Bea,” Mae said later in a quiet tone a little before closing time.

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to ask Gregg and Angus about going back into the mine. Tomorrow night at practice.”

Bea closed her eyes. Her Adult Responsibility Alarm was going off like crazy, but on the other hand, she knew this needed to happen. If they found nothing, at least they would know they had tried. If they found… something… well, the police would certainly believe that Gregg and Mae had talked them into it. And somebody sure as hell had better be responsible. It was dangerous, but in another sense it was the right thing to do. For Casey.

“Yeah. But let’s tell Germ too. He’s got lots of stuff… like, ropes and stuff. We will probably need it. Plus we should probably go in by the well near his house.”

“Okay. I wasn’t sure how much you wanted him involved.”

Bea shrugged. “Mae, to be honest, I trust him more than you and Gregg. I like you, but you’re a little…”

“Unstable?”

“Yeah. Especially the last time we were down there.”

“I’ll be better this time. I promise.”

“Okay then, yeah. We’ll tell them tomorrow at practice.’

“Don’t you mean _ask_?”

“Mae, this isn’t only about you. We all knew Casey. It was just a matter of time before we had to do this. We all thought the police or somebody would find him… and the others. But they haven’t, and nobody seems to care anymore. We know what happened to them. We have to go. I think we all know that. If we’re not going to tell anybody, then we’re responsible.”

The door opened. A late customer. Mae and Bea broke up and Bea went back behind the counter while Mae went through the door in back to the warehouse with Germ.

Bea watched the customer going up and down the aisles out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t want to pry, but he seemed odd. Like he wasn’t looking for anything in particular. Then she saw the phone he was trying to conceal in one hand. He was taking a video, and by the way he was traversing the floor, it seemed he intended to capture her entire inventory. Strange.

She got up from behind the counter and approached the man.

“Can I help you?”

His eyes looked up. He was a gator too - she’d noticed the tail when he’d come in - but he was a lot older than she’d first thought. And close up she noticed the quality of his clothes. Certainly not a local with clothes like that. City Slicker, the residents of Possum Springs would have called him.

“Sorry, are you Beatrice Santello?”

“I am. And you are…?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not at liberty to say just yet. You could say I’m a researcher though.”

“A researcher?”

“Yes. I assure you, as soon as I’m at liberty to explain, you’ll be glad to know me!”

Bea’s eyes narrowed. She was far from certain she liked this guy. The jovial smile looked a little too contrived, even in the aged reptilian face.

“Well, tell you what, Mr. Researcher. How about you research your way right out of my store? How about that? You want to get a video of me kicking you out? Because if you don’t stop that damn thing and get the fuck out of my store, you’re going to get it!”

“Hold on Ms. Santello! Please, just give me a few more minutes and I’ll be leaving!”

“So you can get ALL of my inventory on that damn video. I don’t know what your game is, mister, but until you want to tell me what this is all about, it’s not going to happen. Now get out please. I don’t want to be known as someone who kicks the elderly in the ass…”

“Elderly?”

“Old fart? Is that better? Let me put this in a way you might understand… GET OFF MY LAWN!”

With that, the old man left in a huff. Mae and Germ were just coming in from the warehouse and she looked at the clock. 5 till closing. Close enough for Possum Springs. She locked the door.

“What was that all about? Shouting at the customers again?” Germ chuckled.

“Weird ass guy taking videos of all the shelves. No idea what the hell that was all about!”

“Oh shit,” Bea suddenly thought. Her eyes grew wide and she ran out of the door, looking both ways down the street, but the old gator was nowhere in sight.

“What?” Mae and Germ asked as she went back in.

“He might have been from the government. State or Federal or something. And I just called him an Old Fart!”

Germ - always ready for a conspiracy - took a militant stance of course. “We’ll blockade the windows! I’ll go get my guns!”

“Germ. No.”

“A pistol?”

“No Germ. We’re not going to try and fight off the government.”

“Why do you think he was… somebody like that?” Mae asked.

“Nice threads. Older guy, and he smelled of cologne. Who puts on cologne in Possum Springs?”

“I wear Old Spice,” Germ said proudly.

“Germ, it wasn’t Old Spice.”

“Well, I suppose if it was somebody important, you’ll know soon enough.”

Bea sat down behind the counter as Germ began turning off the lights, leaving just the overnight lights on.

“Maybe you should lawyer up,” Mae suggested.

Bea looked at her, but her worried face hadn’t budged. “Mae, you can’t fight city hall. Or whoever that guy was. Damn. I might have just fucked up big time!”

“Well, nothing to be done about it now,” Mae said. “How about we go get some pizza?”


	3. Camping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back into the woods we go! Ho Ho Ho!
> 
> I really like this image, partly because it has Germ as well as the other four, but also the ghost of Casey is so appropriate. By Kyulollerz.

Nothing more was seen of the strange man the next day, and Bea had almost gotten over her worry about him. However, it was replaced with her worry about going back into the mine. After work they met Gregg and Angus at the Party Barn as usual.

“Guys,” Bea said as she stepped into the big room, “I think we need to talk.”

“What’s up Bea?” Angus asked while Gregg set down his guitar.

There were no seats in the abandoned store, so they all sat side-by-side on the “stage”, including Germ.

“Tell them, Mae.”

“Well… I had a dream. A nightmare actually. About Casey. And the mine.”

“I had one too, a few months ago,” Gregg confided. “I guess we all know we have to go back, right?”

“Me too?” Germ asked.

“Not if you don’t want to,” Bea assured him. “But… we could use your help.”

“No! I want to go! I...”

Angus interrupted, “Bea, this isn’t like you. You’re the level-headed one here. What’s happened? Why on earth would you encourage this?”

“Because we have to, Angus. The way I see it, we have only two choices. Either we tell the cops everything - including about the dynamite and the sacrifices - or we take the responsibility on ourselves. If we find them… the bodies I mean… down there, then we can just come back and report it. But I think we have to do something. Nobody’s doing anything about it anymore, and the more time that passes, the less anyone will care. We’ve got to do something. For Casey if no one else.”

“For Casey,” Gregg agreed, unusually somber.

Bea continued, mostly to Angus, but also knowing she was trying to convince herself that this was a good idea. It obviously wasn’t. It was a horrible idea. But the alternative…

“...or we could tell Aunt Molly everything.”

“The dynamite…” Angus paused. “We… kinda killed them, didn’t we?”

“Kinda,” Bea agreed.

Angus began speaking then. 

“We can’t just leave Casey and the other sacrifices down there. Really, we can’t. If the whole truth comes out, including the dynamite, I don’t know where we’ll stand legally speaking. And I’m sorry Mae, but I don’t believe in ghosts. I don’t think Casey was speaking to you from beyond the grave to find and bury his body. But I do think you and every one of us has a conscience that won’t let things lie as-is. The nightmares are just a manifestation of that.”

“You’ve had them too?” Gregg asked, looking worried.

“Yeah. Not quite the same, but it’s been weighing on my mind too. But it’ll be dangerous.”

“And what about the Black Goat?” Germ asked, looking at Mae.

Angus continued, “I don’t believe in the Black Goat either. But those cultists did…”

Mae interrupted, “The Black Goat was real. But it’s gone now.”

“Either way,” Angus continued, “that’s one less worry - real or not, it’s gone. There’s been no more missing people either, so the cult is either all dead, or gone quiet at the very least. So I don’t think there’s any danger from them either. But, it’s still an abandoned, collapsed mine. And we aren’t cave explorers...”

Germ coughed, but didn’t elaborate. The space was quiet for a moment.

“Doesn’t matter,” Gregg spoke up. “We have to try.”

“Yeah,” Bea agreed. “We kinda do. Okay, so we’re all for doing this?”

All heads nodded.

“Alright then. Tomorrow is Equinox Day, and the Pickaxe is closed anyway. So… tomorrow?”

Everyone agreed.

“But you can’t go down the well,” Germ added. “It’s sealed completely. Nowhere to go. I’ve been down there. There are other entrances, but I’ve got no map, and you _need_ a map down there to know where you're going. I guess we have to go back in through the main entrance, like you guys did at first. And like the cops did.”

__

__

“Well, we know they got to the cultists’ bodies. So there’s got to be a way that far. And the Hole was right there,” Gregg suggested. 

“What about flashlights, ropes, gear?” Angus asked, and all eyes turned to Germ.

The bird didn’t smile - beaks don’t move that way - but the smile in his eyes was as obvious as any conventional smile.

“Gotcha covered.”

“Thanks Germ,” Bea said, sincerely. “You’re the man.”

He shrugged off the complement. “But we’re probably going to need a lot of rope if that hole is as deep as you think it is. I have a lot, but it’s pretty heavy carrying that much. And pretty obvious.”

“Hey! How about if we all camp out in the woods tonight?” Gregg said, getting a bit animated again. “It’ll be fun! We’ve got a big tent!”

“Well, it would let us get all the gear out to near the entrance without being noticed,” Germ suggested.

“Okay,” Bea nodded. “But it’s getting late and we need to get set up before dark. Let me go tell my Dad and I’ll drive us all over to Germ’s house.

“And I’ve gotta go tell Mom and Dad,” Mae said, heading towards the door. “I’ll be back in like fifteen minutes.”

“Me too,” Bea said, and left the Party Barn. “See you all back behind the Ol’ Pickaxe, by the car in just a little bit.”

“ADVENTURE!!!” she heard Gregg cry as she squeezed through the Party Barn’s door. That, more than anything else, worried her. 

It was really a half hour later when she stepped into the alley behind the Pickaxe with a bag of hastily gathered overnight gear. Everyone was there but Mae, and Angus stood beside a rather impressively tall bag that she assumed was their tent, though the tent wouldn’t fit in the trunk and had to sit across the back seat on their laps and poke out the side window. But they were all piled in and Mae came around the corner, taking shotgun beside Bea.

“This is gonna be fun!” she laughed. “Got the whole gang together!”

Bea sighed, but the good feelings were contagious.

Germ suggested, “Stop by my house and I’ll get the gear together, then we can go to Old Man Wilson’s farm. That’s the closest we can get to the mine entrance without actually being obvious.”

“Won’t Old Man Wilson mind?” Mae asked.

“Dead,” Bea informed her. “Been dead for 10 years. It's just an old abandoned farmhouse off a side road.

The sun had gone down by the time they’d finally unloaded and were parked at the end of a dirt path underneath some trees. Cows lowed in a pasture one one side, but the woods loomed on the other.

“Okay, this is it,” Germ declared. “Let’s get all the stuff unpacked.”

“Where do you want to set up camp guys?” Angus called as he drew the long canvas bag out.

“Right here is fine, really,” Germ suggested. “It’s flat and you can’t see it from the road.”

“Somehow it seems wrong to pitch a tent right beside a car,” Mae noted. “Like, you’re supposed to have to hike or something first, aren't you?”

“Not tonight!” Bea smiled. She wasn’t really the camping type. Camping right beside her car, though… That was okay!

First order of business was the tent, but Angus and Gregg had that covered since they knew how it all went together. Germ was unpacking his “gear” that he kept neatly packed in some very military-looking cases.

Bea eyed the camoflaged and hardened cases. “Jeeze Germ, were you in the army?”

“Na. Brother was in the marines. Or something. He won’t talk about it much. Left a lot of stuff when he moved out though, and I checked it all out. Even got some night-vision goggles!”

“COOL!” Mae exclaimed, kneeling down beside Germ to touch the technology.

“Mae, you can look at that later. Help me get some firewood first. It’s going to be dark soon and we’ll want to have a fire.”

It took a few trips into the woods, but each time the tent was farther along until their last trip it was fully up. 

“Wow! That’s a pretty big tent for just the two of you, Angus.”

“We don’t go camping much, but when we do, we like to do it in style!” Gregg responded. “Come in! Check it out!”

Bea brushed the bark off her arms and followed Mae in. It was big enough to stand inside of. It would be a little tight for 5, but certainly manageable. It smelled new.

They chose their spots and laid out sleeping bags, though Bea only brought a couple of thick blankets.

Mae frowned at her as they all lay down in their places. “Jeeze Bea, you run a hardware store! Don’t you think you could have borrowed one of those sleeping bags?”

“Not mine,” she said, mildly insulted but not feeling like making a big deal out of it. “Inventory. Doesn’t belong to me.”

“I guess. So, let’s start that fire! Anyone think to bring marshmallows?”

Angus smiled behind his glasses and reached into a duffle bag beside him. What he brought out was impressive. A wood-handled, telescoping, two-pronged professional marshmallow-roasting stick. He extended it with a “click”.

“Wow!” Both Bea and Mae said, impressed.

“Sorry, only got two. You’ll have to get a regular stick. But the marshmallows are covered.”


	4. Around the Campfire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is the most terrifying sight you can imagine seeing? :)
> 
> Also image by Alec8ter. Just a nice Bea. Probably her most typical expression.

Germ and Gregg disappeared behind the car while Bea, Angus and Mae stacked some of the wood into a pile a distance away from the car and tent.

“Okay, now we need to light it. Bea?”

“I’ve never lit a campfire before, but I’ll give it a try!”

“No, you’ve got to start it with little sticks as tinder,” Angus said, and started piling some small sticks underneath the larger ones.

Bea lit them, but it was rather pathetic.

“Hmm,” Angus mused. “Need more tinder. We could…”

“Out of the way, kids!” came the voice of Gregg, and Bea turned around to find the most terrifying sight she had ever witnessed.

She wasn’t sure exactly which part was the most horrific though, the gunlike flaming nozzle of the oddly shaped contraption, or the gleam in Gregg’s eyes as he waved the barrel to one side, indicating they should get out of the way.

Bea rolled away as fast as she could, while both Mae and Angus let out a shout and threw themselves back as if from an explosion.

The flame that shot from the machine may not have been quite as powerful as a true flamethrower, but it was certainly impressive enough! The grinning shark’s head on the side almost perfectly matched Gregg’s expression as the little campfire was engulfed in flame.

“YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAHHHH!” Gregg screamed wild-eyed as he poured on the flames, and Bea decided to keep rolling into the grass beside the road as the heat hit her.

“I think it’s going now, Gregg!” Angus shouted as he approached his friend carefully.

Gregg turned towards Angus and for a split second Bea was sure he was going to turn the flames the same direction - straight at her - and she covered her head weakly with her arms, waiting for the accident to happen.

But it never did. She peeked out and Gregg’s hand was off the trigger.

“WOW!” Mae shrieked, delightedly. “Let me try!”

Bea got to her feet and shook off the dust as best she could, but no one was watching as Gregg unstrapped the thing and handed it carefully over to Mae while Germ helped her get it strapped on properly and began to explain the controls.

No one paid attention to the dark, grimacing gator as she approached, since all eyes were on Mae and the flamethrower. 

The blow, when it came, landed squarely on Germ’s cheek and he fell to the ground instantly.

“Mae,” she said calmly as everyone went silent. Bea didn’t even turn to look at her.

“Yeah?”

“Turn that off, please, and take it off.”

“Bea! It’s just a…”

“Germ, I want you to take that back, put it away, and never let it touch Gregg or Mae’s hands again. Would you do that for me?”

Germ was shaking off the blow, leaning back on his elbows.

“But… it’s not…”

Bea’s face turned more menacing, if that were possible, and her teeth gleamed in the firelight.

“Pleeeeeeeeeese?”

“Aw, Bea,” Mae whined, but she was setting the thing on the dirt at least.

“No. No flame throwers.”

“Spoil sport,” Gregg complained, but a glare from Bea shut him up.

Bea helped Germ to his feet. “That’s better. You okay Germ?”

“I guess,” he said, rubbing his face. He picked up the flame thrower, closed a valve and carried it mournfully back behind the car.

Gregg and Mae watched his back with even more gloom.

Bea looked to Angus, “You got anything to say?”

Angus’ grin spread ear-to-ear. “Not me!”

“Good.”

“Oh god that looked like fun. Bea? Maybe later or something?”

“Maybe.”

“Well,” Mae said, brightening up, “we sure got the fire going!”

Bea looked back to the campfire. It was roaring. Unfortunately, so was the other pile of wood they’d gathered to restock it with.

“Hey Bea,” Gregg asked, now sitting on the ground and breathing hard. “Can I borrow a cigarette?”

“Why?”

“I think Gregg just had an epiphany,” Angus laughed.

Bea laughed along with him, lit a cigarette and handed it to the leather-clad fox. “Oh, is that what you call it now?”

“Really?” Mae asked, eyes going wide and looking over at Gregg.

Gregg just smiled back. “You’ll never know. But I know what I want for Longest Night!”

Germ returned, still rubbing his cheek.

“Sorry Germ. I guess I clocked you pretty good.”

“Sufficient,” he replied, but his eyes showed a good natured and apologetic smile.

“Well, we’re not going to have enough wood to last much longer. I guess we’d better find some marshmallow sticks right away.”

A few minutes and roughly thirty marshmallows later, they were all sitting around the campfires. The night had come on in earnest, but their location off the rarely travelled side-road made even the large fires unlikely to be spotted.

“Ugh,” Mae said. “I think I’m sick of marshmallows.”

Bea had to agree. “We probably should have eaten dinner first.”

“Well, when you burn them into lumps of charcoal, they’re not going to go down very well!” Angus pointed out helpfully.

Mae took another big drink of water from her water bottle.

“Anybody remember the constellations?” Angus asked, looking up at the night sky. 

The light from the fire made all but the brightest stars hard to see, but Bea recognized a few.

“There’s Harmonium!” Bea said, pointing. “What’s she supposed to have done again Mae? You’re the expert.”

“Leader of the singing angels,” Mae said, then promptly threw up.

“EWWW!” 

“Sorry guys,” she apologized, and began sweeping dirt from the road over it before rinsing her mouth and spitting behind her.

“You okay Mae?” Bea asked, a little concerned.

“Yeah…” she replied, and she did look better already. 

“I brought the hot dogs!” Angus said, standing up.

“Sure! Bring on the dogs!” chirped Germ.

Even Mae was feeling hungry once she’d purged herself of the overdone marshmallows. Hot dogs were eaten along with potato chips while Mae and Gregg told Germ about their last trip into the mine in detail. The fire eventually died down, but they all sat out and did more constellation gazing and Mae told stories about them. Bea was under the distinct impression that she was making up a lot of the stories, but it was kinda fun anyway.

And then Germ produced the hooch. Bea considered protesting, but then nodded as he brought it out. She’d decided it was probably as good a time as any. Gregg and Angus were only a few weeks away from leaving Possum Springs - probably for good - and they really didn’t get together much anymore anyway. She felt a little bad about hitting Germ too, though god knows he deserved it, and Germ usually wasn’t with the whole group.

“How bad could it be, anyway?” she thought, accepting a red plastic cup from Germ as he passed them around. She took a sniff. It smelled like tequila.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually do just a little research on these sometimes. This is a real thing. [XM42 flamethrower](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5tFAb53VwA). Buy one today! But don't let Gregg or Mae use it. Are you nuts?
> 
> And by the way, elephants work for peanuts. I write for comments. (Well, okay, I would write anyway.) But really I do love comments an awful lot! Hint Hint Nudge Nudge


	5. Truth or Dare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It always had bothered me why Mae stopped hanging out with Bea. That seems like such an un-Mae thing to do. It's not like she was surrounded by all the friends. So why would she pretty abruptly stop hanging with her best friend?
> 
> The answer was pretty obvious and right in front of my eyes. And I think makes some sense.
> 
> Image by Reapers969

“So, how about a game of Truth or Dare?” Mae suggested.

“No way! Gregg will do any dare.” Angus protested, but only half heartedly. It seemed the alcohol had even softened him up a little.

“Mae, I don’t…”

“Oh come on Bea. Don’t be a downer.”

“Oh, alright. But don’t blame me in the morning.”

“Alright then!”

“Well, it was my idea so I get to go first. Um…. Germ! Truth or Dare?”

“Truth.”

“Okay. Of all four of us, who do you admire most?”

“Admire?”

“Well, who would you most like to be like?”

“Oh, Gregg for sure!”

“ME? Are you nuts?”

“Na, you’re the coolest guy I know!”

“Aww. But you don’t know me that well. I’m pretty fucked up.”

“Well, hey - you have a leather jacket!”

“That,” Angus joined in, “is a very valid point.”

“True,” Gregg conceded. “Okay, you ask next Germ.”

“Hmm. Okay. Bea. Truth or Dare.”

Bea sighed, but decided her life wasn’t exciting enough to be worried about. “Truth.”

“Um... What does that symbol mean to you? That Ankh.”

Bea looked down at her traditional outfit. “To be honest, I just thought it looked cool when I bought the first one. Now it’s kinda my thing I guess. Sorry Germ, I don’t have a better answer than that. It’s supposed to mean ‘life’, but really I just liked the design.”

“Oh. Well, that’s okay. You ask one,” Germ said.

Bea thought for a minute. “Angus. Truth or Dare?”

“Well, I guess we’re going for Truth tonight mostly. Truth.”

“Before Gregg, did you ever have a crush on anyone else?”

Angus turned to Gregg, who laughed. “Come on Angus! Fess up! He did, and I know who!”

Bea smiled. “Aww Angus. That’s sweet. Was it that other bear-guy you used to go the the pool with?”

“Nope!” Gregg answered for Angus, and began waving his arms like he always did when he got excited.

“Can I change to Dare?”

“I don’t think that’s allowed, Angus,” Mae said with an official rulekeeper tone.

“Oh jeeze,” Angus said. “It was a long time ago!”

“Who?” Bea insisted.

“Um… you.”

“Me? Really?”

“Yeah. Remember when we were in science lab together?”

“Wow. I never would have believed it. You liked me? You sure never let on.”

“Yeah!” Gregg added excitedly. “He used to think about you when…”

“GREGG!” shouted both Bea and Angus together.

“That’s TMI,”: Bea went on, but she couldn’t help giggling. She thought about her bear-shaped toy and how ironic it was - but some things really didn’t need to be shared.

“Your turn Angus.”

“Well shit, how do I follow that up? Mae. Truth or Dare?”

“I guess I gotta do Truth too.”

Angus thought for a while. “You and Bea used to be the closest friends in school, but then you stopped hanging out with her. Why was that?”

Mae’s eyes went wide. “Oh, you know… just different interests and stuff.”

“I call bullshit,” Bea said, wanting a better answer. “You stopped talking to me. You asked for this game. Truth, girl.”

“I don’t think you can call bullshit in Truth or Dare. But okay, if you really want to know.”

“I do,” Bea said, though it hadn’t been her question.

“Would it be okay if I just told Bea privately guys?”

The others looked at each other, but Angus nodded. “Yeah. Sorry. I didn’t mean to ask something too personal really.”

“Oh, it’s okay,” May said, but she downed the rest of her drink before standing up a little off balance. “Come on Bea, let’s walk down the road a little.”

Bea stood, no longer sure she should have pressed the question. But it was something she’d always wondered about. In fact, she’d shed more than a few tears over it back when high school friendships seemed so important. 

They began to walk away from the car and the firelight.

“Sorry Mae. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No, I do. I should have already. But I’m afraid you’ll think I’m a real asshole. I guess I am. I always liked you Bea. But… well. I was kinda a late bloomer you know? Still am I guess.”

Bea decided it might be best just to let Mae talk this out, so she just threw in the occasional acknowledging “MmmHmm”.

“I think it was when we went to that school dance that I decided. At high school. Remember that?”

“Yeah. I think so. But… I don’t remember anything special about it.”

“I do. You danced with Tommy Claussen. And Angus. I didn’t know him at the time.”

“Tommy Claussen. Wow. It’s been a while since I thought about him!”

“You know who I danced with, Bea? Nobody. I hated every minute of that damn thing. Nobody asked me, and I was too embarrassed to ask anyone myself.”

“But why….”

“I only wanted to dance with you, Bea.”

“Oh,” Bea said quietly as they walked. She wasn’t sure what else to say.

“Yeah. I cried myself to sleep that night. Because for the first time I knew just how weird I was. And I knew it was hopeless.”

“Mae, I’m not exactly a social butterfly you know.”

“No, but you’re not into girls either. I don’t think I really care about… the plumbing all that much. But I do have to really like somebody a lot. I liked you. A lot. But not like you liked me. So I decided that I needed to stop hanging out with you. For my own good.”

“I’m sorry, Mae.”

“I am too. I was stupid. It wasn’t till I was away at college that I realized how stupid I was. I’d spent so long away from you just because you could never like me in that way. Well, I finally realized that it isn’t the end of the world. So when I came back, you were there and I decided not to be so stupid anymore. You’re a good friend, Bea, and I was being a selfish ass because you didn’t want to fuck me.”

“Is it going to be a problem, Mae? I mean, I really do like you even if you’re an asshole. But, I like being with you anyway.”

“Nope. Not a problem anymore. I think I’ve gotten over you - at least in that way. Staying with you overnight the other night pretty much confirmed it.”

“It was a little weird.”

“I’m a little weird. Get used to it.”

Bea stopped and smiled. They’d gotten to the end of the dirt road. No cars were in sight on the paved road at the end. She looked down at Mae, and Mae looked up at her. The stars reflected off liquid eyes that were looking at her intensely.

She kissed Mae passionately, and Mae returned the kiss.

“I’m sorry Mae. But we can still be friends. Close friends.”

“That is all I need, BeeBee.”

Bea took her hand and Mae looked at it in surprise.

“If I were gay, Mayday, I’d be gay with you.”

“Aww. That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me!”

“Let’s head back. But… I feel like I should tell you something that happened before you came back too. It’s about Casey.”

“Casey? What about him?”

“While you were gone, I fell in love with him.”

Mae looked at Bea in disbelief. “CASEY HARTLEY? You and Casey?!”

“Yeah. Me and Casey…” Bea started, before telling Mae the whole story as they walked slowly back.

When finally they’d returned, the fire had gone out and they heard voices from within the tent.

“Hey Bea and Mae,” Angus’ voice came from within. “We’re inside.”

Bea unzipped the door and stepped in carefully. Though two large screened windows were open, it was still pitch-black inside.

“You’ll get used to it,” Germ said from her left.

“Going to sleep?

“Not really,” said Gregg. “Just talking.”

“Well, we should probably get to sleep pretty soon so we can get to the mine before too late tomorrow. How far is the entrance, Germ?”

“Oh, not far. Just on the other side of the woods. Maybe 15 minutes once we are packed and ready to go.”

“Well, then I guess we can stay up a while longer,” Bea decided as she felt her way to her blankets. Mae followed and lay down atop her sleeping bag beside her, zipping up the door behind her..

“Hey! You’re only in your underwear!” Mae said, and Bea strained to see what Mae was seeing.

“Wow! You really can see in the dark!”

“Nightmare eyes,” she said as if that explained it.

“Hey, you’re lucky we’re not dressed like we usually are at night!” Angus chuckled.

“Please, don’t make me imagine that.”

“You’d just be jealous.”

“Damn,” Bea whispered to Mae. “I wish I could see!”

Mae giggled and whispered back, “Gregg has dark boxers on.”

“And Angus?”

“Tighty-Whities!”

“I knew it! What about Germ?”

“Can’t see. He’s in his sleeping bag.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Gregg demanded.

Bea snorted.

“Your underwear,” Mae blurted out.

“I guess we should get underneath, Gregg,” Angus offered.

“Why?”

“No problem with me!” May said, pulling her shirt over her head and throwing it to the dark place where the two voices came from, following it up with her shoes and pants.

“HEY!”

“Germ, you okay with this?”

“Blind as a bat over here. Probably a good thing for everyone concerned.”

“C’mon Bea,” Mae said, tugging on her pullover dress.

“Okay, but under my blanket. Somebody has to have some modesty around here.”

“Hey!” Germ’s voice protested. “I’m being modest!”

“And this is modest for us!” Gregg added.

After unstrapping her boots, Bea crawled under her top blanket and got undressed to her underwear and bra. It was a bit warm in the tent, but she would only go as far as throwing back the top half of her blanket.

“You think we’ll find him?” Gregg asked.

“I don’t think it matters all that much,” Bea answered to the darkness. “I think all that matters is that we try.”

“We might be stirring up a hornet’s nest, you know. It’s entirely possible that if everything becomes known, we could be looking at some prison time.”

“Maybe,” came Gregg’s voice again.

“Self-defense,” Mae noted. “I’d think.”

“Let’s try not to worry about that. Whatever will happen will happen.”

The tent went quiet then and Bea listened to the crickets and the gentle rustling of the breeze outside. It occurred to her that this might well be the last time all five of them would be together in such a setting, and she looked over at Mae. Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the dim light and could just make out Mae’s silhouette. She nudged her to get her attention and opened her blanket in invitation. Mae snuggled in beside her and Bea wrapped her arms around her friend.

“Goodnight guys,” Bea said before falling to sleep with Mae in her arms. She was frankly as surprised as anyone that the alcohol actually hadn’t resulted in disaster for a change!


	6. Into the Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang finally returns to the mine. And one down.
> 
> Image would have been more appropriate for the last chapter, but I like it for its unique style. By plaguedogs123.

An hour after sunrise they had all gotten up, cleaned and changed, and the tent was packed away.

“So, what are we taking with us?” Angus asked Germ as they gathered behind the car where Germ had laid out the various gear he’d brought along.

“Like I said, I’ve got lots of rope. I suggest we each take a 100’ length. That’s 500 feet of rope. If your hole is deeper than that… well, that’s one hell of a pit. It’s a good lightweight rope and each is fitted with a nice carabiner on the ends so it should be easy to link. I’ve also got one adjustable harness to lift us each up and down with. I could only find three flashlights, but they’ve all got good, strong batteries. I’ve also got four walkie-talkies. And… of course…”

He patted the flamethrower case while looking at Bea.

“It could come in handy - for light in large places if nothing else.”

Bea let out a groan, but nodded. “And I suppose you think Gregg should carry it.”

“I really think he’d be the best choice. He’s quick and small but stronger than I am,” Germ admitted. 

“Okay, but Gregg, you’re going first. And we don’t open the case till we’re inside the mine. Right?”

Gregg smiled innocently. “Sure thing Bea!”  
“Just… be careful with it.”

“I will. Me and Angus brought water and food.”

“Good thinking. Though really this shouldn’t take too long. At least I sure hope it doesn’t. We’re not exploring a cave system here - we’re just going to try to get back to that pit and see what’s down there. Right?”

All nodded.

“Alright. Everybody ready?”

“Ummm…” said Mae.

“Better go to the bathroom first,” Angus said.

“Me too,” Germ added.

“Oh geeze. Yeah. Okay. Everybody pick a tree. We’ll meet back here in 5 minutes.”

Bea had naturally assumed the role of leader for the expedition and no one protested.

5 minutes later they were finally walking through the woods, following Germ. Each had a loop of rope across their chests and backpacks of various types. When they reached the edge of the woods, they looked around. The mine entrance was indeed nearby behind a newly erected chain link fence.

“Ohoh… Didn’t think of that. Any ideas Germ?” 

“Sure. Wire cutters. But I don’t have any big enough for that.”

“Damn. Foiled by chain link.”

“Hey Bea?” May said and they all turned to her.

She pointed to a big tree on the far side of the fence. “That tree limb is pretty big, and goes out over the top of the fence. Why don’t we just climb up the tree, then climb down from there?”

Bea looked to Germ. 

“Actually… yeah! Why not?”

“Well, we can’t all balance as good as you two,” Angus said, a little concerned.  
“Well, let’s give it a try anyway.”

“Okay. We’ll need to leave a rope so we can get back up.”

“Not really,” Mae said again. “I can just climb up the fence and jump up to the limb. It’s not that far.” 

“Really? Can you do that?”

“Let’s go find out!”

In the end, it was actually even easier because when Angus crawled out on the limb, it split at the trunk and ended up braced across the top of the fence anyway. In another ten minutes they were in the entrance, prying the wooden bars off.

“We are now committing a federal crime,” Angus noted.

“Thanks Angus,” Bea said sarcastically. “That’s good to know.”

“Well, I suppose when we went over the fence we already had now that I think about it.”

The last board was pried back and they all stepped inside, turning on their flashlights.

“Flamethrower?” Gregg asked, trying to withstrain his obvious enthusiasm.

Bea nodded. “Flamethrower”.

In another minute Gregg had it strapped on and the pilot light lit, which provided enough illumination that they were able to turn off their flashlights to save batteries.

“Okay. This part looks about like I remember it,” Mae said. “Let’s go on down to the elevator.”

Once they got there, they were surprised to find that the elevator seemed to have been repaired.

“Well, they probably figured it was easier to repair than to bring up the bodies by rope,” Germ offered.

“I guess. If we use it, anybody in here is going to know we’re here.”

“I don’t think anybody’s here, Bea,” Angus assured her. “Let’s use it.”

The ride down was less rickety than she remembered it being before. But the damage of the cave-in was obvious once they’d gotten to the bottom.

“Wow,” Gregg said as he gave the flame thrower a little boost.

The entire path was covered in rubble.

“I don’t think they fixed the elevator for the bodies, Bea. “ Germ suggested. “I think they used it to haul out rock.”

“There’s a path around this side,” Gregg said.

“Oh god that looks small,” Angus said. “I might be a little claustrophobic.”

“Let me go first,” Germ offered, turning on his flashlight and strapping it to his head. Suddenly he looked very competent indeed.

“How’s it look?” Gregg asked when the light had disappeared.

“Use the walkie talkie,” Germ’s voice came back.

Bea fished the one she carried out of her bag. 

“Hey Germ. You there?”

“Yup. It’s not bad. The entrance is the tightest part. It opens up just past that. I just came out on the other side of the rock fall. Everything’s pretty normal here.” 

“Okay. I’m going next,” Bea declared. “I”m the biggest besides Angus. If I can make it, you can too. Gregg, you’ll be the last so just follow Angus in. Mae, you follow me.”

In fact, it was pretty tight. Bea made it alright but Mae got stuck once. With a strong exhale though, she squeezed through as well.

“Guys,” Gregg said over the walkie talkie when Bea and Mae emerged back out from the rock fall.

“Yeah?” Bea said, fearing she knew what was coming.

“Angus is stuck.”

“Fuck” Bea said, without pushing on the Talk button.

“Well, not technically stuck. He can go backwards.”

“Did he try exhaling? It worked for me.”

“Bea?” came Angus’ voice.

“Yeah Angus.”

“Bea, I can’t do this.”

“It’s okay Angus. You just stay there, okay? We’ll stay in communication with the walkie talkie.”

“Sorry Bea. It’s… I’m not good at tight places.”

“Don’t sweat it, Angus. You’ll be our rear guard.”

“Okay.”

Germ and Mae were looking at her.

“One down,” she said morosely.

Gregg came through with the flame thrower shortly after.

“You okay Gregg?” Bea asked.

“Sure! He’s a big teddy bear - but he’s safe back there. He’s got his flashlight. He’s good. Let’s go on.”

“Well, lead on, Flamer!” Mae laughed.

“Cool! I like that! I’m a Flaming Faggot!”

“Don’t be offensive,” Bea admonished him, but he was obviously having the time of his life.

The tunnel went on for quite a distance with no signs of any changes from their first trip. A few passages left off to the sides, but the main path was all they’d taken originally. However, as they got deeper into the mine, small rockfalls became evident and they grew in size. Finally they arrived at another that was too big to pass easily.

“Looks like it doesn’t go all the way to the top though,” Germ noted, and Gregg directed a jet of flame to confirm. Sure enough it looked like a passage was possible at the top, and Bea noticed a rough path up to the top across the rocks that looked like it had been used.  
“Alright. Gregg, you want to lead this time?”

“Sure!”

Gregg and Germ made it up and over without incident, but a rock shifted when Mae stepped on it, sending her falling back painfully.

“You okay? Mae!?” Bea asked when she’d climbed back down.

“Yeah. Hurt my knee, but nothing bad. Just scraped it. Stings like hell though.”

“Let me see…”

Bea directed her flashlight at Mae’s knee. The knee of the jeans were torn but she couldn’t really make out how bad the scrape was underneath.

“Hey Germ? Did you bring any bandages or anything like that?” she asked over the walkie talkie.

“Should be some in your backpack. Little white box with a red cross on it.” he sent back.

“Bea?” Angus’ voice came back. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Mae just scraped her knee a little. Give us a couple minutes and we’ll be continuing. Just wait there a little Germ.”

“10-4” came the reply.

“Okay Mae, take the jeans off. I need to see how that looks.”

“Really, it’s not bad,” Mae protested, but Bea began unbuckling her belt.

“Jeeze, if I knew you were that eager!” Mae laughed and finished for her, exposing her legs.

Bea checked her out. 

“Yeah, it’s nothing. Let me put a bandage on it. But you might have to crawl some on it.”

“It’ll be fine. Just maybe tape up the hole in my jeans to keep it closed?”

A little while later both were through the passage and back to the main tunnel with Germ and Gregg.  
“Okay, I think we’re pretty close now,” Bea said, then thumbed the Walkie Talkie.

“Angus, can you still hear us?”

“Loud and clear. I wish you could just leave the mic on though. It’s damn quiet here when you’re not talking.”

Germ spoke up. “There is a Vox setting. Just activates when it hears noise. Will use more power, but these batteries should be good for a full day.”

“Yeah, let’s use that,” Bea said. “Besides, we’ve got the other two if we need em. It must suck to be all by yourself down here.”

“Hey Angus, we’re switching to Vox mode,” Germ said as he adjusted the set. You’ll hear everything now.

“Really? Thanks!”

“Yeah. Okay, so we’re probably pretty close to where the pit was. We’re going on down,” Bea said, and they did so.

A few more minutes brought them to the place they recognized. Immediately they knew why the sacrifices had not been discovered. The mouth of the pit was completely filled with a huge slab of rock that had fallen from the ceiling. Gregg had found some dark stains on the far side of the place as well, but Bea suggested he not mention that. People had died here, but there was no need to make a big deal out of it now.

“Well, Angus, we found out why the cops hadn’t found the sacrifices,” Bea said into the mic. “The whole pit and most of the space has this huge rock slab that fell off the ceiling. If no one told them otherwise, they couldn’t even know there ever was a pit here!”

“So, is that it? No way to go farther?” came Angus’ voice. There was some static now though. They had probably neared the limit of the range.

“I think this is the end of the line,” Bea responded back.

Then Germ spoke up.

“Wait. There’s a hole over here!”

Bea’s heart sank. She was actually hoping to not be able to get into the pit. She was far from sure, now that she was deep underground, that she really wanted to anymore.


	7. Into the Hole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rather depressing chapter, I have to admit.
> 
> Image by LimboKat

What Germ had found was covered with rubble and large stones, but it led underneath the slab into darkness, and it led in the direction where the pit must be. It took all four of them to move the larger stones out of the way, and another half-hour to clear out the rest.

“If they didn’t know the hole was there,” Germ said, “no one would have even thought to try and clear this.”

Bea squatted over the opening, “That looks awfully small though.” 

“I’ll go first and check it out,” Germ offered. “Tie the rope up around those rocks. And I’ll use the harness.”

Bea took it upon herself to tie off the rope around the bottom of a boulder that certainly wasn’t going anywhere. She latched the carabiner to the rope around the base of the stone and tugged with all her strength. It didn’t budge. Meanwhile, Germ was strapping himself into the harness and hooked the rope on, while the rest of the coil lay neatly at their feet.

Then he wriggled down into the darkness with his flashlight around his head.

His feet hadn’t even gone out of sight before he called back, “It drops off a lot just inside here… AAAaaa!”

Suddenly his feet fell rapidly out of sight into the darkness and Gregg and Bea grabbed the rope as it began to uncoil much too fast.

“Germ!” Mae called into the hole. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah! Thanks for catching me! Pull me back up some. There’s a ledge, and then it drops off out of sight.”

Mae helped Bea and Gregg pull the rope back till Germ called for them to stop. He was incredibly light, Bea thought.

“Okay. I’m on the ledge. I’m going to unstrap the harness and hook it to the rope. You’ll need it!”

Bea looked at Mae. “Mae? Are you feeling anything? Like… anything weird from down there?”

Mae shrugged. “Nothing like the last time anyway. No, I’m fine. It’s gone.”

The rope uncoiled more as Germ pulled slack towards him, then asked them to pull it back. The harness came through and Gregg unlatched it from the rope and began to put it on.

“Hey Gregg, can you tie the flamethrower to the rope first, and I’ll pull it down?”

“Sure! Hold on a minute.”

“Okay Germ,” Bea called when they’d gotten it pretty secure. “We tied it up stock-first so the barrel will come down last. The flame is out, but it’s still going to be pretty hot.”

“Sounds good. I’ll be ready for it.”

The flamethrower disappeared into the darkness, followed shortly by Gregg.

“What do you see?” Mae called.

“Can’t see much. It’s deep. The flame doesn’t go down very far.” Germ called back, though his voice sounded quite close. “Sending the harness back.”

Bea helped Mae get strapped in, but it was soon apparent that it wasn’t going to work.

“Push harder!” Mae demanded, but even though Bea had already abandoned all attempts at modesty, Mae’s butt just wasn’t going to fit.

“Ow! Okay. Okay, stop Bea. I’m coming back.”

“Germ, Gregg… Mae can’t get in.”

Mae looked embarrassed when she got back out.

“Sorry Mae,” Bea apologized. 

“Too fat,” Mae said, sitting down outside the hole. “You think you can fit?”

“Hey Mae,” said the voice of Angus over the walkie talkie, “don’t feel bad. You made it farther than I did!”

“Thanks Angus,” Mae said, then looked back to Bea.

“Only one way to find out,” said Bea as she began to help get the harness off of Mae.

As Germ had instructed, they cinched it up pretty tight before connecting it to the rope. She felt like her crotch was trussed up in some sort of BDSM nightmare, but she endured it and began to wriggle into the hole. 

From behind, Mae was helping her along, and she felt the rope go taught in front of her as Gregg or Germ was taking up the slack, keeping the rope from getting caught under her.

Fortunately her head-fins were flexible and weren’t a problem. Her hips were her main concern, but the space was already clearing out ahead of her and she didn’t mind the extra push from behind that Mae provided. With some frantic wriggling and pulling she worked her way through.

“Oh shit,” Mae said behind her. “It’s really dark here. Angus? You okay back there?”

“Yeah,” came his voice, “But you’re right. It gets… lonesome. I’m keeping my flashlight off most the time.”

“Well, Bea’s through. I guess I’ll be your relay.”

Bea emerged into a big space, lit by Gregg and Germ’s flashlight as well as the flickering light from the flamethrower. All else was blackness. She was grateful to feel their hands pull her back against the ledge which was thankfully pretty wide.

“You okay Bea?” asked Mae. 

It was odd to hear Mae’s voice so near, but the echo from the chasm in front of her was even stranger.

“Fine Mae. So, what’s next Germ?”

“I’m not really very familiar with this either, Bea. I guess we tie a rope to the end of this one and climb down.”

“I’ll go first,’ Gregg volunteered, and Bea allowed him to help get the harness off her.

“Hey Mae, I’m going to pull the rest of the rope down. I’ve got the other end here,” Germ said, and began pulling the slack through the hole above them.

Gregg set his rope down and got himself strapped into the harness, and Germ took Bea’s rope and connected it to the harness as well.

“Anybody think to bring gloves?” Bea asked.

Germ shook his head.

“Well, we’ll lower you down with this rope, Gregg. But keep a hand on the other one just in case something happens.”

“I’m taking the flamethrower,” he said in a voice that would accept no argument. 

“Sure,” Bea nodded. “Just don't burn the rope, okay?”

He nodded and took the device in hand, spraying the flame downwards. It illuminated only the sides of the chasm but showed nothing but blackness below.

“Okay. Here goes nothing!” he said, and stepped over the edge.

Fortunately his whole weight didn’t suddenly yank the rope as he kept his feet against the wall, as both Germ and Bea slowly let more rope go.

Minutes passed slowly, with occasional eruptions from the flame thrower but neither Germ nor Bea could see over the edge since they were holding the rope with their backs against the wall. They saw only the glow from the far wall as Gregg faded further down.

“How’s he doing?” Mae asked from overhead. “Angus is worried.”

“Gregg? You doing okay?”

“No problem!” came his voice, though it had grown considerably distant and they could no longer see the flame bursts.

Minutes passed as they kept lowering down more rope.

Then, from a long way down, came Gregg’s voice.

“Oh SHIT!”

“Gregg? What is it? Are you okay?” Bea called.

“What is it?” came Mae’s voice overhead.

“Don’t know yet,” Bea answered her. “Hold on.”

“I see the bottom,” Gregg called from far below. “It’s really gross. Bodies.”

Bea looked at Germ, who was looking at the end of the rope.

“How much farther down?” Bea shouted down.

“Not far. Maybe 20 feet?”

“Mae, how much rope is left up there?”

“Not much. He’s almost at the end.”

“Gregg, there’s not enough rope to lower you down the rest of the way without disconnecting from Mae’s rope. We’ve got enough here though, I think.”

“Okay. I’ll disconnect her rope. You guys got me? The last bit widens out. I can’t keep my feet on the wall.”

Bea looked at Germ who was looking for something to tie the rope to.

“Germ?”

“Go ahead Gregg, we’re ready,” he called down, then to Bea he said, “don’t worry. The ledge will help. Just lean back. When he gets down, I’ll tie the rest around that rock.”

The rope suddenly got tighter, but it was still not hard to manage once she’d got a good foothold against a crack in the ledge floor. They lowered the rope down carefully. Suddenly it became slack.

“I”m down!” came the faint voice from below.

Bea called up to Mae. “He’s at the bottom Mae. Let Angus know. All is well.”

“Okay Bea, we’ve got enough rope here to tie this up. Are you going down?”

“Yeah. I have to, if I can.”

“I don’t think I can pull you back up. Maybe Gregg. And once he gets up to Mae’s rope, she can help too. Then all three of us can get you back up the same way. But Bea, this would be a lot easier if you stayed here.”

“I can’t, Germ. Casey’s down there.”

Germ called down to Gregg, “Hey Gregg - tie the harness to the end of the rope and we’ll pull it back up.”

Once again Bea snugged the harness up around her once they’d detached it from the rope.

“How are you going to lower me down?”

“I’m not. You’re going to have to do it yourself, Bea. I haven’t the strength. Gregg! I’m lowering the rope back down!”

They wrapped the rope a couple times around the harness’ carabiner to help slow her descent.

“Okay. Well, walk yourself down by the rope, but don’t let go. You really need something to work like a glove.”

They looked at each other.

“Leggings?” 

“Maybe if I wrap them around my hands?”

“Try it.”

“I’m coming down in a minute, Gregg,” Bea called, as once more she got herself out of the harness so she could get her leggings off. “Hey Germ, you got your knife?”

The bird smiled and whipped one out of his back pocket, the blade clicking to with a snap.

“Don’t look,” Bea said as she hiked her dress up over her hips and stripped off the leggings. The feel of the cool open mine air against her naked legs felt weird after all the time she’d worn leggings daily.

“Okay, Germ. Have at em!”

The sharp knife made quick work of splitting the leggings in two, and Bea wrapped them around her palms, then got into the harness. If it felt tight against her crotch before, now it was positively obscene, but she wrapped the bottom of her dress under and tried out the rope.

“I think it’s going to work,” she assured Germ.

“Just remember, if you get going down too fast, just pull up on the bottom part of the rope. You should be able to stop yourself.”

In fact, it turned out to be pretty easy. Even the part where the wall fell away and she was dangling free wasn’t too bad, though she was glad of the sacrifice of her leggings a couple of times. She was also glad of the light from the flamethrower below. Gregg was sitting, looking up at her. The grin on his face looked sincere. 

“Hi Bea. Good to see you! It’s lonesome down here with only, “ he began with a nod behind him, “them for company.”

“I’m down, Germ,” Bea called back up.

Then she turned to look behind Gregg, but it was dark till he opened up the flamethrower a little more.

The lurid flickering light bouncing off of empty eye sockets and skulls was the first thing she noticed. They were all against the back wall of the creche that had formed at the bottom of the pit, presumably due to water that must have run across the floor at some point in the intervening months. Or maybe the Black Goat had tossed them there. They would never know.

Her heart sank, though, when she saw the skateboard jumbled up among the bones.

“Oh Casey,” she said, her knees buckling, and Gregg noticed it then too.

He helped her to stand and they walked closer to the pile. Stained clothes still covered most of the bones, acting as bags to hold them together. Finally they saw the black hoodie. The skull within was crushed by the fall.

“Fuck,” Gregg said, no longer able to maintain his normal demeanor.

“He died instantly,” Bea said, trying to find something optimistic in the tragedy as they approached their friend.

Then Bea Santello sat down in front of the body of Casey Hartley and wept quietly for a while as she looked at what little remained of the only boy she had ever loved - even though the affair had been so brief. She reflected that one day, not so long ago, they had played a silly lovers game in the Grant house, naked but somehow still innocent. And a day or two later, that boy’s body lay down here, alone and dead. She couldn’t stop the tears, and she wished she had broken up with him more gently. He didn’t deserve this fate. She should have been kinder to the poor doomed meth head.


	8. Ascent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goodbyes are always sad, but not always bad. 
> 
> A little shorter chapter than most, but I felt it was appropriate. There's a lot packed into it.
> 
> Image by teckworks. Not really related to the chapter, just purdy.

“Bea,” Gregg said from behind her, his voice uncommonly soft. “We should go.”

Bea looked up at him, her eyes streaked with tears and saw that he too had been crying, reminding her that he had been very close to Casey as well. She stood and gave him a sincere hug which he accepted and returned. 

“Wait. Let’s take his skateboard back.”

The two tied the broken and splintered remains to the rope and called for it to be brought up. Germ attached it to Mae’s rope and she managed to get it through to where she waited while Gregg tied off the flamethrower and Germ did the same with it. However they had only one flashlight and they decided Gregg should take it up with him before lowering it back down, which would leave Bea alone in the dark.

Bea helped Gregg get into the harness and he began to climb. The ascent was much slower, but Gregg was the most physically fit of them all and once he got up to Mae’s rope she was able to help.

Though Bea wasn’t prone to fear of the dark, watching the bobbing light slowly fade above her as the shadows gathered around her with nothing but corpses to keep her company did cause her heart to beat a little faster. She tried not to think about it, but the minutes dragged on and it was the silence that really began to gnaw at her.

She began to sing quietly.

“I just want to die anywhere else…”

She wondered if Casey would have preferred this dark pit to Possum Springs.

“If only I could die anywhere else…”

Why had she been so mean to him? She could have just gotten angry and demanded he stop the drugs - or at least keep them out of her store. She didn’t have to end their relationship so abruptly.

“So come with me, let’s die anywhere else…”

The tears started again as Gregg disappeared from view and she was left in total darkness, deep underground with the bones of her former boyfriend. She felt dizzy and moved closer to Casey. She touched his hoodie, now dry and brittle, like the rest of him.

“Anywhere…”

She gathered the folds in her hands and felt the bones within. “I’m sorry, Casey,” she thought through blind, wet eyes. “I hope you forgive me. Wherever you are.”

“Just not here…” 

Her voice cracked at the words.

Then she let the silence wash over her, and for a moment dreamed that she was alone with Casey, and he hugged her back, assuring her that all was forgiven.

“You okay down there?” came Germ’s voice from far above her. It bothered her. It threatened to take her away from Casey and she didn’t want to go. Not yet.

“Bea?” came the voice again.

She didn’t want to hear it. But Gregg’s voice followed. 

“Bea, I’m sending the flashlight back down.”

She kissed Casey in the dark and whispered to him. And he whispered back.

“I’ve got to go,” she said as the light slowly returned.

“I know. But it’s okay Bea. I’m okay where I am.”

“I don’t want to leave you,” she whispered.

“You’re not leaving me, Bea. I’m not here. That’s just my body. I’m not in there anymore. You take me with you.”

“Am I just talking to myself?”

The flashlight came into view. For a second, she saw Casey standing in front of her. Not an incorporeal wisp, but as she had seen him long ago in the Grant house.

“No,” he said and smiled, then faded as the light came to a stop, resting on the floor.

“BEA!” called Gregg from above, and she opened her eyes.

She stood up and walked to the flashlight and harness, strapping herself into the harness and putting the flashlight around her head. She looked back - not at the body, but at the place where he had been. She smiled, and realized it didn’t matter if it had been real or not. It was real to her. Casey had absolved her of her guilt, and she felt better than she had for a long time.

“Goodbye Casey Hartley. I loved you,” she whispered. Then she looked up.

“I’m coming, Gregg!” she called up. “Just had to say goodbye.”

Then she began to climb. It was awkward, and more than once she had to pull the rope up, using the friction from the loops around the carabiner to rest, but slowly she rose out of the pit, getting help from Mae, Gregg and Germ as they helped pull the ropes up as best they could.

Finally she saw Germ and Gregg above her, and they scrambled to catch her hands and pull her back up to the ledge where she stopped to rest.

“Are you okay Bea?” Mae’s voice asked from the other side of the little tunnel.

“Yeah. I think I am,” Bea replied, though she was still breathing hard from the final effort. Mae’s voice sounded strained too, though, and she realized how hard her friends had also worked to get her back up.

“Thanks, guys,” she said, feeling like the words were inadequate but hoping they understood.

It took another hour to get everyone completely out of the pit, and plenty of scrapes and bruises were had in the end, but they managed it. 

Mae hugged her tightly when finally she emerged from the tunnel underneath the slab, and she returned the hug.

“I’m okay, Mae.”

“I know. But I was worried when you didn’t answer them back!”

“Sorry. I was… I don’t know. I was somewhere else. Let’s get back to Angus.”

“Yes, please!” said the staticy voice over the walkie-talkie.


	9. Daylight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group sees light at the end of the tunnel. Literally and figuratively.  
A long one to make up for the short one. I could have split it in two, but believe it or not I'm only just starting the real story here!
> 
> Image by Rudragon. And I do see Bea as Mae's savior in a sense. Or at least as a true friend.

It took some time to get all the way back to Angus. Everyone was quiet, and the broken skateboard that Bea carried on her back was a constant reminder of what they’d left behind. But when finally they squeezed through the tight space that had stopped Angus, the grin on his face when he saw Gregg was heartwarming. The two embraced with unconcealed emotion and they continued up and out of the mine hand-in-hand.

“So what are we going to do now?” Germ asked Bea.

“I guess I need to take this to the police.”

“Let me go with you, Bea,” Mae offered. “We can talk to Aunt Molly.”

“I thought you didn’t like her.”

“I don’t. But she’s better than the rest,” Mae said as they got off the lift and saw the first glimmer of the light of day.

“You going to tell her about the rest of us?” Germ asked.

“Not if I can help it, but you know how the police are. They can worm stuff out of you.”

“Hey!” Mae said, anger creeping into her voice. “It’s not like WE killed them!”

“Not them, no,” Bea agreed. She let the fact that they probably had indeed killed the cultists hang unsaid but very obvious.

“Bea, do what you think is right,” Angus said from behind her and she turned around.

“Thanks Angus. I hope we don’t get into too much trouble, but we’ve got to tell them.”

“We could… I dunno, leave a note or something,” Mae suggested.

“Na. Let’s just get this out in the open and be done with it - for better or worse,” Gregg said, and they all turned around at that. Gregg seemed like the last person who would want to come clean to the cops.

Bea turned to the others, and - one by one - they all agreed.

“Okay. We’ll talk to Aunt Molly. Just me and Mae. It will be good to get this all over with.”

With that, they stepped into the late afternoon sun. Everything was as they’d left it, and the climb up the broken tree limb wasn’t too hard. Germ was the last to drop to the ground, then they walked through the woods before emerging at Bea’s car. 

“Good luck you two,” Gregg said from the back seat as they headed back towards town.

“And if it all goes bad,” Germ added, “we’ll have fun in prison!”

“Yeah, thanks for that encouraging word,’ Bea spat.

“Hard to commit crimes in prison,” Mae noted.

“Not if you’re determined!” Gregg laughed.

“They gonna have to take me in a four piece!”

“Dude, you packin’ wolf tickets. You gonna be on the bumper beggin’.”

“You gonna be hangin in the ding wing sippin’ that bug juice, girl.”

“You best be ridin’ the leg of some honcho the minute they open the steel, dude.”

“Dude, I’m gonna be the rabbit. I’ll be outta my peels before they find my boof.”

“You better or you be meeting some big ass commandos your first night.”

“Guys,” Bea interrupted. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Where were you during Prison Week?” Mae said with a grin.

“We’re just practicing our prison lingo,” Gregg explained.

“Prison Week? What’s that?”

“Prison Week? Do you even TV? How do you not know Prison Week?”

Angus filled her in. “Every year there’s a thing where TV shows do a week on prison related themes, Bea.”

“Oh. Yeah, I don’t even TV,” Bea said, mimicking Gregg.

They dropped Germ and his gear off first, before letting Gregg and Angus out in front of their building, then taking the car back behind the Ol’ Pickaxe.

Bea opened the trunk and looked at the broken skateboard.

“You ready to do this?” Bea asked Mae as she picked it up.

“No.”

“Me neither. But let’s get it done.”

They started walking up the street towards the police station.

“Hey, there’s Aunt Molly over there. Let’s just go talk to her.”

As they approached, the policewoman looked up but her eyes widened when she saw the skateboard. Casey certainly wasn’t the only skater in town, but there weren’t a lot of them and she had certainly been given a description of his board during the search.

“Is that what I think it is?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Mae said flatly. “We found him.”

“Really? You found Casey?”

“Yes Officer Molly,” Bea said, denying Mae her accustomed put-down of her aunt.

The cat’s eyes scanned the two.

“You’ve been down in the mine. In there?”

They both nodded.

“Okay. Come with me back to the station. Detective Brown hasn’t gone home yet...”

Bea looked at Mae. Mae nodded her acceptance, but Bea saw the worried look on her friend’s face and she suddenly felt very protective of her friend. She took Mae’s hand and the two followed Aunt Molly.

*********************

Four hours later Bea finally emerged from the detective’s office. She saw Mae sitting in the hallway waiting for her.

Aunt Molly was with her, and she stood up as Bea approached. 

“Stay here for just a little while, okay? Let me talk with the detective for a minute.”

Bea nodded and sat beside Mae. Her friend’s face was tear streaked.

“It’s okay, Mae.”

“Oh Bea, I couldn’t help it. I told them everything.”

“Yeah. I did too. Look Mae, whatever happens happens, okay? You had to.”

“I’m not worried about me,” Mae said, choking up. “I’m worried about Gregg and Angus. And Germ.”

“Me too. But Mae, we had to. We had to do all of it. We never had a choice. If we hadn’t, we’d never know who they were. Mae, they killed people. They killed Casey, and if we hadn’t done what we did, they might have killed us. Certainly others.”

Mae’s eyes found her own and she looked at Bea like a child seeking assurance from her mother. Bea felt very worried herself, but for her friend she stayed strong and tried to exude confidence she didn’t feel.

“We did, didn’t we?”

“Mae, we saved lives. You know we did. If these guys don’t see that, fuck them.”

Mae’s face turned bitter. “Yeah. Fuck them.”

“We’re goddamn heroes, Mae. You’re a goddamn hero.”

The door opened sometime later and Molly stepped out.

“Come with me, guys. We need to talk.”

“Do I need a lawyer?” Bea asked warily.

“No, Bea. Come on, let’s go into my office where it’s private.”

They followed Aunt Molly again, down the hall and into a small office where Molly shut the door. 

Bea sat beside Mae in front of Molly’s desk and looked around. The shelves were full of obscure books and a few official-looking papers were framed and hung behind Molly’s desk. She apparently was no mall cop regardless of what Mae called her.

“First, let’s get this out of the way. There will be no charges against you. For any of it.”

“None of us? Really?!” Mae burst out, as if releasing pent-up pressure.

“No. We didn’t release it, but we found evidence that something like this was going on. Diaries from two of the... well, of the people that died in the cave-in. They were very detailed. They named names.”

Bea felt her face redden with anger. “But… you didn’t arrest anybody?!”

“No. We didn’t. Because they are all dead. Every one of them named in those diaries was killed in the cave-in. We had no evidence. So we kept it quiet.”

“You’ll find evidence enough now,” Bea assured her.

“Sounds like it. But you did the right thing. The policewoman in me says you didn’t, but the woman in me knows you did. I talked with detective Brown. We’re not going to press any charges against you. Not for trespassing or anything else. But I’m asking you not to tell anyone else about it. We’ll release a statement once we’ve recovered the bodies, but we won’t mention any of you. But the media is going to be on this like flies on shit. They’ll find out who it was that discovered the victims. I suggest you tell them whatever you want about today, but don’t mention… the freak cave-in. Alright?”

“We can do that,” Bea assured her.

“Good. We’ll have a team out there tomorrow to recover them. I’m going to take the skateboard to Casey’s parents tonight. You know… if you’d have told us all this last year…”

“We thought you’d find them,” Mae said, a little indignantly.

“We might have, if we’d known where to look. The diaries mentioned the pit, but they didn’t say where it was, Mae. Guys, we’re just people trying to keep the peace. We’re not superhuman when we put on this badge."

Bea considered asking if she could come along, but decided against it. His parents would have a tough enough time dealing with the truth without some ex-girlfriend they didn’t even know showing up at their doorstep.

“Thanks, Aunt Molly,” Mae said. “I’m sorry about… all that Mall Cop stuff.”

“No problem, Mae. Now you two get on home. Tell your parents. About today. They’ll find out soon enough anyway. Best you tell them first.”

Bea thanked her as well, and the two left the police station.

“Hey Bea,” Mae said as they walked down the street. “Can I come over later?”

“Sure Mae. I think I’d like that.”

“Might be very ‘later’.”

“I’ll keep the window open,” Bea laughed. 

They split up at Bea’s building. As she climbed her stairs, Bea was feeling pretty good, all things considered. She wondered what the next few weeks would bring, but Molly’s assurance that they wouldn’t get in trouble with the law relieved a burden on her mind that she only realized had been there when it was gone.

“Is that you, Bea?” her father’s voice came to her when she opened the door.

“Yup, it’s me dad.”

“Glad to have you back. How was your camping trip?”

She walked into the TV room and sat on the couch.

“Dad, we have to talk…”


	10. Celebrity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The news gets out.
> 
> Image by KyleStudios. I reformatted it a bit, but as a guy searching the internet for Bea pictures to go here, this little comic struck a chord with me. :)  
It's probably excessive as an intro pic, esp. when the chapter's kinda long too, but wth.

The next two weeks were the oddest Bea had ever experienced. At first it was fairly quiet. The newspapers ran a story on the recovery of the bodies of six missing people, some of which were children, from the old copper mine. No mention of foul play was made in that first report, but the circumstances were obvious to anyone paying attention. Next came the news cameras and crews. They descended on the police first, of course - primarily the police chief who had little to say beyond that it was an active, ongoing investigation. Most left soon after but a few were seen around town days after the initial news broke.

For the first time in living memory, Possum Springs became the focus of a national news story. Speculation on the major networks ran wild, generally centered around expectations that there was a serial killer on the loose. However, the police chief downplayed that aspect, saying their investigation indicated there was no longer any danger to the public. Meanwhile, both state and federal law enforcement vehicles were seen in town. But so far no one had asked Bea or any of her friends anything about it.

She almost started to hope that their involvement in the story wouldn’t be revealed. Meanwhile business was booming all around Possum Springs. During one evening at the Taco Buck, Bea and Mae had a good laugh over the complaints they overheard from the newcomers about the lack of cell phone service.

“Welcome to Possum Springs, gentlemen!” Mae said to them as they left, but Bea scowled at her.

“What? I’m just welcoming the newcomers,” Mae said, feigning indignation.

As they walked back down the street, they saw Mr. Penderson coming towards them.

“Mae Borowski. I could have guessed you’d have something to do with this!”

“Me? What do I…”

“Saw it on the news. Yup, your days here in Possum Springs are numbered now, missy! About time too.”

Mae looked at Bea and they went back to Mae’s house.

“Mae?” her father called from the front room.

“Yeah. I’m here. Bea’s with me. What’s up?”

“Did you know you were on the news, dear?” Mrs. Borowski asked, unusually sitting on the couch with her husband.

“No. What did they say?”

“Some investigative journalist says you and Bea and some other unnamed kids found the bodies. Why would they say that, Mae? You haven’t been back in that mine have you?”

Mae turned to Bea.

“You better go, Bea.”

“Yeah. Good luck…”

Bea closed the door behind her and went back to her apartment. Her dad was watching TV too. It seemed like everyone was constantly watching TV these days.

“Bea? You were on TV. I think they figured it out. Said you and Mae discovered the bodies.”

“Yeah. I thought somebody might squeal. Some investigative reporter probably just paid off a cop to talk.”

“Well, do you want to close the Pickaxe? If you don’t, it’s a sure bet there’ll be lots of people trying to talk to you.”

Bea considered it. If she closed, she could avoid a lot of hassle. But the real question was her reputation. If she closed the store it might appear she was hiding. She _would_ be hiding.

“No. I’ll go in like regular. We did nothing wrong. Except trespassing I suppose.”

“Okay. If you think that’s best.”

Later, when her father had gone to sleep, Bea opened her laptop. Mae had messaged her, as well as Angus. Germ wasn’t on IM.

“You going to open tomorrow?” was Mae’s question.

“Yeah,” she responded. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”

“Good luck,” May sent back a little later. 

Angus’ message was similar. She told him she’d keep him, Gregg and Germ’s names out of it for her part, but who knows where they’d gotten Bea and Mae’s names from anyway.

“It might not matter. Bea. But thanks. I don’t know if we want to be outed by the press, you know?”

“Why the fuck would they care?” she typed back.

“No idea. But they do.”

“Well, anyway they won’t hear your names from me.”

Mae’s icon began blinking.

“Can I come over?”

“Better not Mae. Now that our names are out there, people probably will be watching now.”

“Yeah. You’re right. Jeeze, there are probably people outside my house right now! Hold on…”

A few minutes passed, and Bea peeked out her own window. She didn’t see anyone or any news trucks in front of her building though.

“There’s a black van parked across the street, Bea.”

“Mae, that’s Mr. Salvi’s van, isn’t it? He always parks it there.”

Brief delay, then Mae sent back, “Oh. Yeah. It is.”

“Talk to you tomorrow Mae. You might want to stay in though. I told Gregg and Angus we wouldn’t mention them. Probably not a good idea to drop in on them till this blows over.”

“How long do you think that’ll be?”

Bea shrugged reflexively, realizing the gesture was lost to IM.

“No idea. But probably no more than a week or so. News stories die fast.”

“Hope so. Goodnight Bea.”

“Goodnight Mae.”

Bea closed her laptop and looked at the open window, then down at herself. She put on her loose shift that served as her nightgown, then lowered and closed the blinds. Just in case.

She was happy to see no strangers were waiting for her at the Ol’ Pickaxe. She opened the business as normal. Germ came by a little later but she sent him home, telling him the latest. They didn’t have any TVs at his house, so he didn’t know about her and Mae’s identification as having found the bodies.

“In fact, Germ, stay home this week, why don’t you?”

“Got that shipment coming in tomorrow. You sure?”

“Yeah. Just for a little while, till this blows over.”

“Okay. Good luck, Bea!”

Of course, it couldn’t last. The first reporter came in around mid morning. She knew he was a reporter by his clothes, but also the cameraman that tagged along with him was hard to miss.

“Are you Bea Santello?” he asked, stepping up to the counter. Some regular customers were in the store, but they quickly left - obviously not wanting to be on camera.

She scowled at him. “Is this the Ol’ Pickaxe? Where I work every fucking day of my life? Yeah? Then I must be Bea. Waddayawant?”

“Is it true you and a friend found the bodies in the mine?”

“Yeah. We did.”

“Why were you in an old abandoned mine?”

Bea saw another customer walk in, take one look at the cameraman, and walk back out.

“Goddammit, you’re hurting my business.”

“Sorry Ms. Santello. We won’t take long.”

“You’ll take as long as you can fucking get. I know how it works. And I’m not MIZZZ Santello. I am Miss Santello. You’re in Possum Springs now, bucko. Wind your social clock back twenty years and you’ll get it.”

The door opened again. Another reporter. And cameraman.

“Oh fuck. How many of you are there?!”

The first reporter turned around and shook hands with the new one, a frankly beautiful fox.

“There’s only us two camera crews in town, Ms Santello,” said the newcomer. “Though there might be more coming if something new breaks. But it’s our job. We don’t mean to be pests but… it’s pretty much a requirement.”

Bea frowned and stepped out from behind the counter, walking between the reporters to the front door.

“That’s _Miss_ Santello. If I’m going to be on TV, might as well get it right. I’m not married, so I prefer Miss. Got it? It may not be PC, but it’s PS. Possum Springs.”

“Are you kicking us out?” asked the first reporter.

Bea paused at the door, but just flipped the sign over to Closed.

“Would it do any good?”

Even the cameramen chuckled at that.

“Probably not.”

“Look, I don’t have much to tell, but if you’ll do me a favor, I’ll give you all the time you want. You say there’s only two of you reporters in town, right?”

“Right. For now.”

“Okay, if you promise not to bug Mae, I’ll sit down with you and you can film-away.”

“That’s Mae Borowski, right?”

“Yes. She’s my friend and I’d rather her not be hassled by you guys.”

The reporters looked at each other and agreed, so Bea locked up the door and took them back to the warehouse. There she explained that her and Mae had often explored the mine - just a way to kill time in a quiet town. Then about a year ago the cave-in happened and some people were killed so they boarded up the mine and put new fencing around it. So Bea and Mae couldn’t get in. 

Then a few days ago she happened to go by the old mine and saw a tree limb had fallen down over the fence. So her and Mae went down to check out the cave-in. While down there they went down a deep pit that had been covered over by a fallen slab, and there they found more bodies. Including that of a friend of theirs.

That led to new questions about Casey, and Bea felt on firmer ground on that subject, so she told them about how he’d gone missing not long before the cave-in.

Finally, they seemed to be satisfied and she was able to shoo them out of the store and reopen. Eventually customers returned, and some asked her about the reporters.

“Yeah, you might as well know. Me and Mae went down in the mine and found them. Just exploring really,” was her typical response.

Finally the first day came to a close and she went home directly. While cooking dinner with her dad, she heard her own voice from the TV. Both her and her dad dropped what they were doing and rushed back to the couch.

She was on TV. Not just a picture, but her interview. Bea wasn’t sure what to make of that. They even included the “Miss” part. She wasn’t sure if she came off as a bitch or not, but the editing appeared to be sympathetic at least. Amazingly it was over at no more than a minute considering the amount of time they’d spent with her. They didn’t even mention Mae by name though, and that made her happy.

“Well, MISS Santello,” her dad said after the segment was over, “maybe now you’ll know better than to explore in dangerous places like that! Bea, what if something had happened? I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Sorry dad,” she said with sincerity. “I won’t do it again. I hope.”

“Sometimes I wonder if I know my daughter at all. I never thought of you as the thrill-seeking type.”

“I’m not. Normally. It was… an unusual circumstance.”

“Well I hope so. I guess you’re a celebrity now.”

“I guess so. For Possum Springs. Maybe they’ll erect a statue.”

“Don’t put it past em. They’re doing a hatchet job on the police chief. Incompetent bungler, not having found them after the cave-in.”

“I don’t think they’re incompetent, dad. Well, I’m off to bed.”  
“Give me a kiss first, Bea.”

She did so, then climbed into bed with her laptop. Even Gregg sent her a congratulatory message on her interview. Mae acted mad that she hadn’t been mentioned by name, but it was a ruse. In the end she thanked Bea for keeping her out of it.

The next day, though, the real strangeness started. No reporters came, but she met people from Possum Springs she’d never talked to in person before. Even the mayor dropped by. It seemed a little facetime on national TV had indeed made her a minor celebrity and for a few days she had to turn down multiple invitations to dinner. She even received some odd fan-mail and more than one marriage proposal a few days later!

But then one day Casey’s parents came into the store. They thanked her profusely for finding their son, but she wasn’t at all sure how to respond.

“I really liked Casey,” she told them. “He had his problems. You know that. But he was a genuinely good guy. I miss him.”

“We do too, Bea,” said Mr. Hartley. “We’re holding his funeral at the cemetery tomorrow at noon. We’d really like you to come, if you can.”

“I’ll be there. I wouldn’t miss it. I have some friends… we all knew Casey. Is it okay to invite them?”

“We would appreciate it, Bea. This has been hard for us. Very hard. But at least we know now. I want you to know how much it means to us. Thank you Bea.”

Bea’s eyes started to water again. Casey’s father looked so much like him, it hurt. She showed them out and watched them walk up the street. 

“That’s what Casey would have looked like, when he got old,” she thought. “He’ll never grow old now.” 

But she didn’t dwell on the sadness. She had helped his family, in a way. They wouldn’t go on hoping and praying for a phone call that would never come. They would have a place in the cemetery to talk to him and remember him, like her mom. It was a sad place, but not an evil place. She would tell the gang about the funeral tonight. Maybe after the funeral, they’d all get together for another band practice tomorrow, in his honor.


	11. Cemetery and Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Casey gets buried. Bea gets a proposal.
> 
> Image by ottoOttsy

The service was a melancholy affair as a warm spring rain fell outside the chapel at the church, but Bea felt like that was appropriate. The casket, of course, was closed, but she greeted both Mr. and Mrs. Hartley. Pastor K. said a brief few words and both Mae and Gregg were blessedly subdued.

Bea said goodbye to her friends after the service as they weren’t feeling like going to the burial, but it had been a while since Bea had spent time with her mother, so she turned on her car’s lights and followed the train of cars to the cemetery. The rain had stopped and the grave site was covered by a tent anyway, so other than getting a little mud on her boots, it was alright. Casey’s parents were reserved as could be expected, considering they were burying their son.

She’d managed to keep her composure until they lowered the casket into the ground, but memories of her mother’s burial came flooding back and she was unable to hold back the tears any longer. All the assurances of the afterlife and that the dead person’s soul lived forever didn’t help. She left shortly after and walked back to her car where she got out the flowers she’d bought earlier, then walked back to where her mother’s headstone stood up stark against the wet ground.

“Hi Mom,” she said quietly to the grave. “I brought you some flowers. Damn, I hope you’re there somewhere. They just buried Casey. I never really told you about him, did I? I don’t know if you, like, know my mind. I hope not. It would be embarrassing. But I think I was in love with him. Well, really I know I was. He was killed by some nut jobs here, but I’d broken up with him before that because he brought drugs and stuff into the Pickaxe. Casey, if you can hear me too… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so hard on you.”

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to shut off the shudders that were coming on - a sure prelude to another round of crying. It worked.

“Anyway, Mom, Dad’s doing alright I guess. We miss you. I miss you. I’ve got enough for the lease on the building, inventory and taxes this month. Still can’t hire Germ full time, though. Bill’s still there, but I keep him out of the store as much as I can. He hasn’t done anything for a long time though, so I think it’s okay. Sorry I haven’t been back more often.”

A little while later, she stood up again and brushed the mud off her knees. She looked over to where Casey’s grave was. Workmen were taking down the tent and two other men were shoveling more dirt over it, filling it in. Everyone else had left. She took a flower from her mom’s bouquet and walked back to where the shovelers were just finishing up.

There was no headstone, so she just dropped the flower over the mound.

“The headstone will be installed next week,” said a voice she recognized behind her. She didn’t turn around.

“Hi Pastor K. Why are you still here?”

“Oh, I guess I’m like you. I know a lot of people buried here. You cared a lot about Casey, didn’t you?”

It was more a statement than a question. Bea just nodded.

“I know I’m supposed to tell you he’s in a better place and all that, Bea. But even us religious people don’t know for sure of course. I suppose no one alive does. That’s why they call it ‘faith’ I guess.”

“Do you have faith? Do you think he’s still around… somewhere?”

“I have faith. It’s all we have, Bea. Still agnostic I suppose? I don’t suppose I could talk you into coming to service some day?”

“I’d feel like a hypocrite, Pastor K.”

“We’re all hypocrites, Bea. We do the best we can though. I think someday you’ll be a regular - but you have to find your own way home first.”

Bea turned around to face the diminutive pastor, anger flashing in her eyes.

“I can’t believe in your God, Pastor. A decent God wouldn’t allow things like this. And don’t give me that Mysterious Ways crap. The only God that would allow this doesn’t give a shit about us. Surely you know that!”

“We’re alive, Bea. He’s not, but we are.”

“We’re just amoebas. Scum on the surface of the earth.”

“Now you’re just venting. It’s okay, Bea. Venting is good sometimes. Did you love him?”

Bea turned back to the grave, imagining the bones underneath it.

“Yes.”

“Do you think you just loved an amoeba? We’re more than that, Bea. If we weren’t, we wouldn’t hurt so bad.”

“I don’t believe in your religion, Pastor Karen, but I’m coming to understand the need for it at least. I’m glad you’re here. You help people get over things like this.”

“I try to help people cope, Bea, but no one gets over it. Death and religion are inseparable.”

“I saw him, Pastor. Down there in the mine. For just a minute, I thought I saw him. I was probably imagining it though.”

“Could be. Your mother believed, Bea.”

“Didn’t do her much good, did it.”

“I don’t know. She went through a lot, Bea, and not just the illness. She believed, and she loved you and your father an awful lot. I think her faith helped her get through each day.”

“Careful, Pastor K. My mom is a touchy subject with me, okay?”

“Okay Bea. But if you ever need to talk… you know where I am.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Bea said.

As if on cue, the rain began again. Pastor Karen opened her umbrella and handed it to Bea. She took it gratefully, and held it over both their heads as they walked back to where the cars waited.

************

The police finally released their report, detailing the Black Goat cult and their sacrifices. The story rekindled interest in Possum Springs for another month, but the attention on Bea and her friends who had first found the sacrifices waned as the magnitude of the crime was revealed. But even that horrific revelation soon faded from the public eye since all had apparently died in the cave-in and there would be no trial to focus attention on the murders.

Bea didn’t know any of the members well, and she was glad of that. Angus apparently knew one of them as a former co-worker at the Video Outpost II, but they’d never been friendly.

Spring had begun to turn towards summer when a man walked into the Pickaxe that Bea recognized immediately. This time, however, he wasn’t posing as a customer, nor did he attempt to surreptitiously record her inventory on his phone. Instead he walked up to the counter.

“Hello Bea, do you remember me?”

Germ wasn’t there that day, but Mae was in the warehouse cleaning up after a recent delivery.

“Mister video. Here to finish the job?”

The old gator smiled. “Oh Bea, we finished that ages ago. We know all about your business. Things have really picked up since the mine thing, haven’t they?”

It was true enough. Though the mine was well sealed now, there were plenty of caves in the area too and spelunking in the area had really picked up. She had taken advantage of the renewed interest by stocking a wide variety of climbing and caving hardware and becoming familiar with their use. She cringed now, thinking back to. the amateurish methods they had used back then, and how lucky they’d been not to have hurt themselves.

“We’re doing alright. What do you want Mr. Video?”

“The name is Brown. Hamilton Brown. I work for a competitor of yours, MISS Santello.”

The guy had done his homework.

“I see. And why shouldn’t I kick you out again right now, Mr. Brown?”

He reached into his jacket and brought forth a manila envelope.

“We want to buy you out, Bea.”

Bea looked at the envelope. It was thick with papers.

“Not much of a competitor if you just buy out the competition.”

“Look through those papers tonight before you reject our offer out of hand. We’ve already bought the land out by the Interstate. Groundbreaking will commence soon. As soon as the news hits, this offer will be rescinded.”

Bea’s eyes opened wide. “Home Badger.”

Mr. Brown nodded. “Bea, we will put you out of business and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. You know it already. But we have a proposal for you. An absurdly lucrative proposal, given your revenue. But we do our research too. Somehow, even as young as you are, you’ve amassed quite a lot of good will here in Possum Springs. Especially after finding those kids’ bodies. Good will is a valuable and very tangible thing. We’re willing to pay for it.”

“So, what’s your angle, Mr. Brown? You just want to buy the Pickaxe, and shut it down?”

“There are those who had intended something like that. But they’ve been overruled. No, Bea. We want to buy the Pickaxe and keep it open - as an extension of the new mega-store Home Badger. We’ll even keep the name. ‘The Ol’ Pickaxe - Your Neighborhood Store, by Home Badger’. You may not have noticed, but the downtown area here is going through something of a renaissance. We’d like to be a part of that.”

“I already am a part of that,” Bea said, sliding the envelope back. “I’ll take my chances, thanks.”

“Bea,” said Mr. Brown, sliding the envelope back again. “Please, take a look. We’re not your enemy - or at least we don’t have to be. We can be your partner, if you’ll consider it. Bea, it may take a year or two, but eventually your business is going to fade as your customers begin to abandon you. You could keep the doors open, but your profits will dwindle even more. You’re barely making ends meet now, and that’s with… shall we say… questionable employment practices. It will only get worse. Please, consider it. Talk it over with your father.”

Bea’s natural reaction was to fight it. But time had tamed her tendencies to snap judgments.

She looked at the old gator. Underneath his polished exterior, his eyes looked bright. 

“Do you get a bonus if I agree, Mr. Brown?”

“Of course I do. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a good deal. I think you’ll agree when you read the details. You’ll want to hire a lawyer to go over the fine print, but I’m confident there’s nothing in there that you’ll be opposed to.”

“It’s not my store, you know,” Bea said, but she took the envelope and put it on a shelf under the counter.

“No, but it might as well be. Your father isn’t well. You’ve done very good by him, but he’s not getting better. He needs help, Bea. Professional help. And not by your Dr. Hanks. This could provide that help.”

“At the cost of the business he worked all his life to build,” Bea responded, but without much heat. She wasn’t so sure.

“Read the offer, Bea. It’s only the first two pages that covers all the major points.”

“The devil is in the details though.”

“That’s what lawyers are for, but I don’t think you’ll find any devils in here. You know what we want, Bea. We’re willing to pay handsomely for it. What we really want is your goodwill. We don’t want the people in and around Possum Springs to see us as big-city interlopers. We want to be your partner. But yes, we would own the Pickaxe.”

“Get out of my store, Mr. Brown.”

He nodded and produced a card. It had only his name and a phone number printed on it, but the background color was the unmistakable hue of the Home Badger. She took it and slid it in with the other papers in the envelope as he left.

Mae came in from the back.

“Who was that?”

Bea looked up from the envelope. When she’d opened it to insert the card, she’d seen a number on the first page. A very, very large number.

“Huh? Oh. That’s Mr. Brown. Nothing important.”


	12. Best Available Lovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The best laid plans of mice and gators do oft times go astray.  
Yeah. That happened. Well, it is an adult story, and young adults don't always make the best decisions. (neither does anyone else for that matter.)
> 
> Image by haiku oezu. Simple but so appropriate.

That evening Bea took dinner in her room while she went over the documents as carefully as she could. She didn’t speak Lawyereese, but she understood most of the fine print. She and her employees would be welcome to stay on at the Pickaxe, if the contract was signed, but the ownership would be transferred to Home Badger Holdings, Inc. There was no provision for profit-sharing or anything of the kind. The Pickaxe and any profits it made were Home Badger’s to keep. 

There was a clause stipulating that she was not to disparage or in any way hurt the Home Badger’s reputation, and that stung a bit, but she could see the necessity. They weren’t really buying just the store - they were buying her good will with the rest of the town. And she knew why. 

A few years ago the Home Badger had been in the news when they came into a rural town in another state. Her father had followed the story intently. The local hardware store was a beloved institution in the town though, and the introduction of the new big-box store outside of town had been taken hard. Residents pointed out that the location would mean the town would get no taxes from the new business, but the old store would have to continue to pay.

In the end, it had gotten ugly. The Home Badger’s reputation had been damaged, and the old store had won a handsome award in a much-publicized trial. Yet in the end it was Home Badger that had truly won. The old store was shuttered and the owner had left town with the money from the legal victory. 

Though in the end the Home Badger was the last-man-standing, it was a pyrrhic victory and had cost them in both money and prestige. So they had changed tactics, and this contract was their new way of entering a market - buy out the mom-and-pop shops but allow them to continue to work there as an extension of the big store. Visually little changed and the in-town store stayed open, keeping protests and arguments to a minimum. And the owner of the in-town store made out very well indeed.

As she read the details of the contract, suddenly she set it aside and looked up at the ceiling - as if stunned by a sudden realization.

This could pay off the entire medical bill debt and still have a substantial amount left over. She could send her father to a real psychiatrist. And, though she was allowed to continue as the store’s General Manager, she didn’t HAVE to. She could do something else. 

She could go to college.

A chill ran down her rather extended spine. 

What would her dad think though? She could see him going either way. He might be pissed she would even consider it, or he might be ecstatic for the opportunity it represented. Still, though, the loss of the Ol’ Pickaxe would hit hard. He’d owned it for so long, even though it had been months since he’d set foot within it, and much longer yet since he ran it regularly.

It had gotten late by that time, though, and he had gone to bed already. She could hear his snoring. She turned off the light and got undressed, but she couldn’t sleep.

She thought of an old black-and-white movie where a small town shop owner had fought against a big corporation and won. The protagonist had been brave and courageous, though everyone thought he was wrong. In the end, he had won. And now here she was, about to bring the same devil’s bargain to her own father - for her own selfish ends. She felt like a traitor.

Then she remembered Mae’s tirade against her father. She’d gotten pissed off at Mae for that. How dare she, someone not even in the family, even suggest that her father might not be doing everything he could to get back to work? But she knew that what she was really pissed off at was that Mae was articulating thoughts she had already had but she’d repressed.

She took out her laptop.

“Mae? You still up?”

A few minutes later, she got a response.

“Hi Bea. Yeah. I’m still up. What’s up? You, like, NEVER message me first!”

“I don’t? Um… sorry about that!”

“No problem. So…”

Bea thought about how to phrase the question. It was obvious that Mae liked her romantically. But she was also Bea’s best friend. She needed that best friend right now.

“Can you come over? I need to talk to somebody about something.”

“Sure Bea. I’ll be right there.”

“Should I leave the window open or meet you downstairs?”

“Leave the window open. It’s faster.”

“Okay. Thanks Mae.”

She closed the laptop and found her nightgown/shift by feel and slipped into it. No need to encourage Mae on that front.

A few minutes later, a shape poked her head in.

“Hi Bea,” Mae’s voice said as she climbed in. Bea crawled to the foot of the bed and looked out the window. There really wasn’t much of a ledge out there.

“Jeeze Mae, I don’t know how you manage it. And you never fall?”

Bea could barely make out Mae’s shrug in the dim room. “Not yet. I think it’s a cat thing.”

“Must be.”

Mae took off her clothes. All of her clothes.

“Um…” Bea began, but decided it didn’t really matter. She had her nightgown on, after all.

“What’s up Bea?”

Bea lowered the window a little. When she crawled back, she found herself on top of Mae who had taken her side of the bed.

“My turn on the inside,” Mae said, and Bea could hear the mischievous smile in her voice. 

“Sorry Mae. It’s… kinda serious.”

“No problem. I can be serious,” Mae said, leaning on one elbow. 

Though the room was dark, Bea’s eyes had adjusted already and the sight was a little distracting.

“Remember that guy in the store today? Mr. Brown?”

“Yeah. Didn’t look like a local.”

“He’s not. He’s with Home Badger.”

“The big home-improvement chain?”

“Yeah. They want to buy me out.”

Mae got right to the heart of the matter. “How much?”

Bea told her.

Mae lay back down. “Really?”

“Really.”

“That’s a lot of money, Bea. What does your dad say?”

“I haven’t told him yet. I’ll talk to him about it tomorrow. But Mae… will I be an asshole if I try to encourage him to sign it?”

“Bea, I never pry into your family life… well, I try not to anymore anyway. But you’re asking my opinion now and I can’t help it. Will it pay off your mom’s medical bills?”

“Yeah. And more. A lot more.”

Mae turned to her again, resting a hand against Bea’s arm. It felt nice. Not sexual, just a friendly touch.

“Bea. Is it… enough?”

“Yeah. It is. It wouldn’t be enough for us to live off of for life or anything, but it could put me through college. And then, with luck, I’d get a real job. A career. I could take care of us from there.”

“Oh Bea,” Mae said, and climbed atop her, kissing her directly on her mouth. “There’s nothing wrong with this, or with you promoting it to your dad. Ultimately it’s his decision though, and you have to be okay with him rejecting it.”

“I know, Mae,” Bea said, her eyes getting blurry. “Dammit, it’s not my decision to make. But I’m afraid I’ll hate him if I get my hopes up too high!”

They had been talking in whispers, but Bea’s voice broke at the end as she let loose her pent-up emotions. She held Mae against herself and began to choke up, as if years of dreams and aspirations that had been thrown aside were suddenly back in play.

Mae stroked her head as her body was racked with convulsive sobs, trying to keep the noise down and not disturb her sleeping father.

“It’s okay, Bea,” Mae said quietly between spasms. “This can’t be a bad thing. Your dad might have problems, but I think he’ll see the right choice here.”

“You think so?” Bea said, wiping tears aside on an already damp pillowcase.

Mae rolled back to her side of the bed now that the worst was over.

“Yeah, I do. You’re not a bad person for having dreams, Bea. We all do.”

Bea smiled weakly. “It hurts more when a dream is rekindled, then dashed again, doesn’t it?”

Mae kissed her again. “Not sure yet. I’ll let you know.”

Bea straightened up. “Mae… Are you talking about…”

Mae shrugged. “Maybe.”

Bea climbed on top of Mae this time. “MaeBea.”

“MaeBea.”

“Try not to read too much into this, Mae,” Bea said. ‘But thank you. I needed you tonight.”

She pulled her nightgown over her head and dropped it over the bed’s edge. Mae let out the cutest stifled squeal, and Bea couldn’t help but kiss her. She hoped she wasn’t screwing up Mae worse, and she knew it was a mistake, but Mae deserved something for being there for her tonight when she most needed her. And she was no stone. She had her own feelings for her friend that were a little more than platonic. 

She thought no more about the contract, and let her worries of Mae’s issues fall away as well, letting the night’s mood take over. 

Later she lay with Mae’s head resting in the space under her snout and neck. The cat’s snores were much more shallow than her father’s and reminded her of a purr. Vaguely she knew she had broken her own promise to herself, and hoped it would have no lasting repercussions. But for this one night she wouldn’t allow herself to worry anymore. She put her arm around her friend and held her softly, letting sleep take away her exhaustion, and foregoing a last cigarette. 

Tonight, at least, she didn’t need it.


	13. Afterglow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next morning... and the Taco Buck.
> 
> Image by jojodear. The fin-ring is a cute touch.

Bea awoke to her alarm clock, but Mae was already gone. Bea noticed the window was open a bit more than she’d left it. She opened her laptop, and sure enough Mae had left her a message.

“Hi Bea. Sorry, but I left after you fell asleep last night. I know you didn’t intend anything, and I thought it would be awkward for you if I stayed. Please don’t worry about me reading too much into it. I’ll try my best not to. But it was amazing anyway. I’ll come by the Pickaxe later.”

Bea wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but she decided to play it off lightly.

“Hi Mae. Awkwardness be damned, I missed you in the morning! See you later. And… it was pretty great.”

She started to write more, but kept erasing what she’d written. She finally gave up and took her bath.

Her dad was up making breakfast when she had gotten dressed.

“Hey Bea. Everything alright?”

“Yeah. Mae came over last night. Dad, I have something I want to talk to you about after work.”

Her dad gave her an odd look.

“Bea, you know I love you. I don’t care who you like, you know? I just want you to be happy.”

“Oh. Oh! You mean Mae? Me and… No. No dad. It’s not about that.”

“No? I… well. I thought I heard you…”

“Really? I thought you were sleeping. Well, as for that… I don’t know really, dad. But this is something else. We’ll talk later.”

“Okay kid. I’ll be here.”

“Thanks dad,” Bea said, taking the breakfast he’d bagged up. She was running a little late and he always seemed to know and help out like this.

She kissed him and lingered with her hug a little longer than she normally did.

“Dad?” she said, looking directly into his eyes. She noticed they looked older than she remembered. The lenses maybe a little bit cloudy.

“Yeah?”

“Dad. You’re the best mother a girl could ever have. Do you know that? I love you so much.”

“Aww, thanks Bea… I guess! Now go on, you’re running late.”

She kissed him again and left the apartment, realizing how much she really meant it. If he decided against selling the Pickaxe, she was going to be good with it. Realizing that lightened her mood, and somehow the morning seemed brighter than normal.

“Hi Bea,” said one of her regular customers as she passed him on the street.

She knew Mr. Connors pretty well, but he’d never spoke to her outside the Pickaxe before.

“Hi Mr. Connors. Hows that lawn mower blade doing?”

He chuckled. “Oh, just fine Bea. Just fine. Nice morning isn’t it?”

“It is,” she replied sincerely. “It really is.”

Germ was waiting for her at the door.

“You know, Germ,” she said as she unlocked the door, “You’ve got your own key. You can open up if you want.”

Germ shrugged. “Thanks Bea, but it wouldn’t be the same. You’re looking awfully happy today. You feeling okay?”

Bea started switching on the lights. She wondered momentarily how much of her mood was due to her decision about the Pickaxe and her dad, and how much might be attributed to last night with Mae. That made her a little embarrassed when she remembered it, so she responded with her standard sarcasm.

“What, I can’t have a good morning without something being wrong? Go clean up the bathroom till the truck gets here.”

“Ah, that’s better,” Germ laughed and headed to the back room.

Mae dropped in around lunch time. Bea felt a smile coming over her and she fought to keep it down.

“Hi Mae,” she said with as little enthusiasm as she could muster. It wasn’t easy.

“Hi Bea! Where’s Germ?”

“We got a load of hardware in. He’s doing inventory back in the warehouse.”

“You want me to help?”

“Na. Say, want to go to Taco Buck with me for lunch? I’ll have Germ take over.”

“Really? Sure!”

Bea opened the door to the warehouse.

“Germ? Me and Mae are going to the Taco Buck for lunch. Can you take over while we’re out?”

Germ’s head popped up from behind a stack of boxes.

“Sure! Can you bring me back a couple?”

“Will do.”

Bea held the door for Mae and shut it behind her as they began to walk up the street.

“So, did you talk to your dad yet?”

“Na. We’ll talk about it after work though. Wish me luck.”

“Luck!”

Bea noticed Mae hadn’t tried to hold her hand. Oddly she kind of missed that. It was, as Mae had figured, kind of awkward. Neither wanted to ‘read to much into’ last night. And in doing so they seemed more distant than they had been for months.

“Fuck it,” Bea said, and took Mae’s hand in her own.

Mea beamed.

“Well… I’ve gotten used to it.” Bea explained lamely, though Mae’s grin must have reflected in her own.

“Good! You buying?” Mae asked hopefully.

“You got any money?”

“Nope!” Mae replied, seemingly proud of her broke-ness.

“Then I guess I’ll have to,” Bea laughed.

At the Taco Buck, they put in their orders and sat waiting for their number to be called when Gregg and Angus walked in.

“Mae! Bea!” Gregg called and sat down with them.

“I’ll order,” Angus said, knowing Gregg had been distracted and wouldn’t think about ordering for a good fifteen minutes.

“Wow! This is like old times at the Clik Clak! Why don’t we get together much anymore? Hey, you want to go over there for pizza tonight?”

Bea shook her head. “Sorry Gregg, I’ve got something to do with my dad.”

“So,” Mae spoke up, “you guys packing yet?”

“Yeah. We started a week ago actually. Angus found an apartment in Bright Harbor that’s less than our’s here!”

“Really?”, Bea said, impressed.

“Yeah. We’re going to take a bus this weekend and go check it out. We’ll be staying with my cousin overnight.”

“You want me to drive you up instead?” Bea asked, almost surprised to hear the words coming out of her own mouth. She must really have been pent up, was all she could figure.

Angus sat down. “Would you really Bea? I mean… If you’re offering…”

Bea sighed. She’d stuck her foot in it this time. 

“No problem. Can you pay for gas though?”

“Still less than a bus ticket. How about it Mae? You wanna come too?”

“Sure!”

Bea’s number was called and she got up to get their tacos. She looked at her three friends and sighed. Everything would be different without Gregg and Angus. She felt sure their own relationship was doomed, but they sure looked happy now. Well, what did she know about such things anyway? And besides, just because a relationship might be doomed to failure in the end, was that really a reason not to pursue it? She looked at Mae. She seemed so animated around Gregg. They brought out the best and the worst in each other.

She brought the tacos back to the table.

“HOT SAUCE!” Gregg screamed and raced off to get the spiciest kind they had in the Taco Buck.

“Ghost Pepper!” he said, proudly displaying the lethal stuff when he got back.

Mae looked dismayed.

“Let me eat one without. Then when you get yours we’ll see who can stand it the longest.”

“Okay!” Gregg said.

Bea just shook her head.

Angus’ number was called and they left to get their food.

“Hey Bea,” Mae whispered in a mischievous tone.

Bea looked up.

Mae was licking one side of her taco. “Remind you of anything?”

“MAE!!!” Bea glared at her, but her face felt hot. 

Mae broke out laughing and Bea let loose an involuntary snort that she quickly repressed.

“Mae, I swear if you so much as…”

“Shhh!” Mae hissed. “They’re coming back.”

The rest of the lunch passed as expected, though surprisingly it was Gregg that threw up first. They weren’t actually banned from the Taco Buck though, so that was a net plus. However, Bea did slip the poor guy who had to mop up a five-dollar bill.


	14. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bea's life turns around at last.
> 
> Image is just a cute, sexy Bea. Nothing to do with the story. But I liked it, and at least I didn't post one of the alternate versions! By Onnanoko.

  
“Hi dad,” Bea said as she opened the door to their apartment. “Hold on a second. I’ll be right back.”

Her father was where he usually was when she got home, watching TV on the couch. She retrieved the envelope from Home Badger and took it back to the living room before sitting on the side chair beside her father.

“Hi Bea. What’s up? Should I turn off the TV?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

He got up and pushed the power button on the old TV. Vaguely it reminded Bea that they didn’t even have a TV with a remote control. At least it wasn’t black-and-white.

She took a deep breath and began.

“So, here’s the thing. A man from Home Badger came by yesterday. Actually he’d come in before a while back, but he didn’t tell me who he was then.”

“Home Badger,” her dad spat. “What do they want?”

“They want to buy the Ol’ Pickaxe, dad.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. He left this paperwork to look at. Dad, they’re going to break ground on a new Home Badger location out by the Interstate.”

Her dad let out a sigh. “Was bound to happen, I suppose.”

“Dad, you know what that’ll do to us.”

“Yeah. I know. We’ve got maybe five years at best till everyone starts going over there. They’ll undercut our prices too, and we won’t be able to match them. I studied them, you know.”

“I know, dad. But here’s the deal they’re offering. They are going to keep the Pickaxe open, as a satellite of the main store. We can keep our staff too. And dad…” she paused for emphasis.

He sat up and looked at her. “Yeah?”

She pulled out the first page. The offering amount was in large type.

Her father’s eyes grew wide for a moment, before narrowing in suspicion again.

“Why so much? What’s the catch?”

“Dad, I don’t think there is a catch. After that situation in Sprayberry, I think they’re doing this to keep a good reputation - and our good will. Ever since that thing in the mine, I guess I’m kinda popular around here. But he said that as soon as the news of the new Home Badger is out, the offer will be removed.”

“Sounds like Home Badger. Gotta keep the pressure on. But you think it’s legit? We’d better have this looked over. Who knows what ‘gotcha’s lurk in the fine print?”

“Definitely. I read the whole thing and didn’t see anything, but we need a lawyer’s eyes to be sure. But I didn’t know if… well… if you’d be interested.”

Her father took her hands in his. She looked at them. Like his eyes, they were older than she remembered. Still big and strong, but more wrinkled, and the scales seemed looser.

“Bea,” he said, squeezing her hands for emphasis. “I’m getting older. I know the Pickaxe is all you’ve known. Even if we hadn’t lost your mother, I might not be able to run the place anymore anyway. I’m starting to forget things, Bea. I didn’t tell you, but I notice it. Bea… I think it might be time to sell.”

“Really?” Bea said, her eyes widening. But she immediately held back her emotions. She didn’t want to influence his decision. Despite her work there, it was ultimately his business.

“Yes I do. Bea, I know you always wanted to go off to college. What happened with your mother… it’s been hard on both of us. Maybe this is for the best, Bea. Are you still interested? In college I mean? You’d be starting late.”

Bea’s eyes started to burn. “Dad, I’ve never wanted anything more. I know this isn’t enough to live on, but if I could get a good degree, I know I could make enough for us both. And without that damn hospital bill hanging over us.”

“You sure you’re okay with it?”

Bea started to laugh. “Dad… I’ve never been more sure.”

“I thought you loved the Pickaxe!”

“I do… kinda. But… Oh dad, thank you!”

“Why don’t you take this over to Mr. Akkerman tomorrow and have him look it over. Don’t get your hopes up too much. One wrong sentence buried in here can mean it’s not at all what it looks like!”

“Dad, Mr. Akkerman retired last year. We’ve got a new lawyer now. Mr. Dansky. Don’t you remember?”

Mr. Santello hit his head lightly. “Of course. I’m telling you Bea, it’s no fun getting old! Do that. Take it to Mr. Dansky.”

“I will. And dad… thanks!” she said, getting up and giving him a fierce hug that he returned.

“Thanks? For what?”

“For the Pickaxe, dad. We might be selling it, but we’d have nothing to sell without all the years you put into it!”

“Aw, thanks kid. But it kept us going all these years, didn’t it? That’s something, especially in this town.”

“That’s really something special, dad. You can be proud of it. I’m going to insist that they keep a picture of you inside the store.”

“Both of us, Bea. You’ve kept her going these last two years on your own. That should be remembered too.”

“Okay. Both of us! Maybe I can get them to rename it to Ol’ Santello’s.”

“Hey! That’s not a bad idea! Not like pickaxes sell anymore. I bet the younger folks don’t even know what a pickaxe is for.”

*****************************

Two days later, Bea got a call from Mr. Dansky. She left the Pickaxe early and walked to his home-office not far off Main Street.

The place smelled of books, like every lawyer’s office she’d ever been in.

He was sitting at the big mahogany desk and invited her to sit down.

“I’ve looked over the document and, Bea, I have to tell you, it’s as straightforward a buy-out as I’ve ever seen. I’ve also written up the two clauses you asked for and have spoken to Mr. Brown on your behalf. He’s agreed to both, and they’ll pay for the signage changes too! I don’t know how you managed to get an offer of this size though. You must really have impressed them, Bea!”

“Ah, I don’t know about that. I think they were just desperate.”

“Well, for whatever reason, they aren’t sparing any expense on this. Are you and your father free to come by on Friday? They want to get the contract signed as soon as possible. I suggested 1pm, if you can bring him in.”

“Sure! No problem. We’ll be here at 1pm.”

Mr. Dansky handed the envelope back to Bea, rising to show her out.

“And Bea… tell your father I want to congratulate him. Businesses in Possum Springs just don’t sell for that much. But I can also tell you I hope to be buying my hardware from Ol’ Santello’s for years to come!”

Bea thanked the young lawyer and stepped out into the late-spring afternoon. Suddenly, in the space of only a few short weeks, her life had changed completely. She had hope again.

********************

Friday couldn’t come soon enough. By noon she was back in her apartment, trying to help her dad get ready as best she could. His suit no longer fit around the middle, but she persuaded him to wear it open anyway. But, other than Mae, she hadn’t told a soul about the impending buy-out.

At the meeting she met Mr. Brown again, along with two lawyers for Home Badger. Her dad treated them respectfully enough, though his suspicions were on high alert - questioning everything he had to put his signature to. After a lengthy three hours, though, all the papers were signed and the transfer of ownership - as well as the new name - would happen on the first of the next month. Bea would stay on to help the transition for two months at full manager’s salary - more than she’d ever paid herself really - at the end of which her position would be open to her to continue if she wanted to, or open for anyone of her choosing.

Germ came immediately to mind for her replacement.

They walked out of the lawyer’s house/office and Bea felt the weight of the world suddenly lifted off her shoulders. She walked home with her dad, walking by the Ol’ Pickaxe on the way.

“Let me stop in, for just a minute, Bea?”

“Sure dad,” she said, and held the door open for him.

He made his way over to his accustomed place behind the counter, while Germ stepped out from behind it. The old wooden floorboards creaked in a way that somehow always reminded Bea of her dad. No one else made them creak in quite the same way, and it brought back memories of an earlier, happier time.

The old gator breathed in deeply.

“Still smells of wood and turpentine,” he said, opening his eyes. “Your mom used to sit here, on this very stool, Bea, when you were so little. We used to have a closed-off area over by that window where you and Mae would play when you were kids. Do you remember that?”

“I remember it. Mae does too.”

“Then you used to come in… right about this time, after school. Right through that door. I can see you now, Bea. You’d be in your school clothes and the bell would ring over the door. We used to have a mechanical bell on a spring, you know. Not the electronic thing we have now. We’d hear that bell, and your mom would come running over. Oh, those were good times, Bea.”

“The best, dad.”

Mr. Santello sat still, looking at the door. His eyes went from bright, shining remembrance to heartbreakingly sad in an instant.

“God I miss your mom.”

Bea couldn’t stand it. She hugged her dad to herself. “I do too dad.”

“Bea. You know I’ve never been a religious man. I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve been to her grave.”

“A long time, dad. Do you want me to take you there?”

“No, Bea. I want you to take me to Pastor Karen. I need to talk to somebody. I love you, Bea, but I think I need to talk to her. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, dad. I think I do. Let’s go see her.”

And with that, Bea walked her dad out of the Ol’ Pickaxe - soon to be renamed Ol’ Santello’s.


	15. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Bea Santello learns some things she didn't realize before.
> 
> Image by Kollerss and Maiz-ken

Bea sat outside the Pastor’s office for over an hour while her father met with Karen. Vaguely she marveled at how soundproof the walls were. Probably intentional. Also she thought once more about the unique smell of a church. Not an unpleasant smell, but it did seem like all churches had a unique atmosphere. She thought it might have something to do with the way the church stood nearly empty for the whole week, only to be packed for a few hours on Saturday and Sunday.

The door opened and her father and Pastor Karen stepped out. Her father took her hands and explained that there was a meeting in a few minutes of an adult group that Pastor K had convinced him to attend. They all walked down the hallway to where the meeting was.

“Will you be okay coming home on your own, dad?” Beatrice asked as her father stepped within.

He smiled back. “I’m not that old Bea! I’ll be fine.”

“Hey, Bea,” Pastor Karen said after her father had left. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure,” Bea said, looking back at the closed door for a moment, then following the Pastor back to her office.

Karen closed the door behind her, Bea noticed as she took a seat in front of the Pastor’s desk.

“Bea, have you heard of the seven stages of grief?” she started out.

“Of course. Don’t ask me to name them though.”

“It’s something I deal with often, you know. In a nutshell, they are Disbelief, Denial, Guilt, Anger, Depression, Reconstruction and Acceptance. Never the same for any two people, of course, but I’ve found that’s a pretty effective structure to work by. I don’t think your father ever experienced Anger over your mother’s death - and that’s okay - but he is stuck in the fifth stage. It’s been long enough, Bea. He needs to begin moving on. And he recognizes that now too, which is very hopeful. It’s why he came to me. Bea, what does your father do every day?”

Bea thought about that. “Watches TV mostly. Cleans the apartment and gets groceries. Helps me with monthly taxes on the Pickaxe though!” she finished, trying to show her father did help.

“Bea, he has no social interaction at all, with anyone but you. And every time he sees you, he thinks of your mother. To put it bluntly, he needs to get out. He needs to build a new life. Even he sees that. But I think he feels guilty even considering a new life. Bea, we’re not all just a bunch of zealots here at church. I know you’re not a believer - neither is your father for that matter, but he needs something. I’ve offered him our Adult program here as a possible way to become social again. He’s going to try it. It might not work for him, but Bea, he needs to get out again. He will waste away in your apartment if something doesn’t change.”

“Do you have any recommendations?”

“Well, we’ll see how he feels about the program here at church. But, maybe you should have him come into the Pickaxe more often?”

“Pastor K, you haven’t seen him when he breaks down there. He loses it if he stays more than a few minutes.”

“So? Let him lose it.”

“But… the customers. It’s bad for business with my dad blubbering away in the corner.”

“Bea, are you really telling me you keep your dad out of his own business because he scares customers away?”

Bea looked at the Pastor, and she looked straight back at Bea. Her expression was hard, and for the first time, Bea realized that - just maybe - she herself was part of her dad’s problem. She had taken over the Pickaxe when her dad couldn’t, but since then she’d kept him out. The few times she’d allowed him back, she would immediately take him back to the apartment when he began to get morose.

Pastor Karen nodded. “You begin to see it now, don’t you?”

Bea was shocked.. “You think…. You think I’ve kept him away? Kept him locked him up in the apartment?”

“Haven’t you, Bea? Effectively, haven’t you?”

Bea stood up angrily. She fumbled nervously for a cigarette, but the Pastor shook her head.. 

“I don’t keep him in the apartment against his will! He can go wherever he wants.”

“Oh, I know that Bea. But you’re all he’s got now. He won’t do anything you don’t approve of. But he’ll never get over your mother until he’s regained his own life. You can help him do that, Bea. And if he breaks down in the Ol’ Pickaxe… well, let him. It’s his business in more ways than one.”

“Not for much longer,” Bea thought.

“Bea, just think about it. Encourage him to get out more. If not the Pickaxe, how about just taking him out to dinner. He’s got to have had some other friends too. Let him have a night out with the boys.”

Bea put the cigarette back in the pack, but her hands were still shaking.

She felt the Pastor’s hand on her back.

“Bea, no one is accusing you of anything here. I know you mean well, and so does your father. But you’ve got to let him lead his own life again. A single disapproving glance from you and he’ll back down. Remember that - you’re all he’s got now. He needs more though, Bea. You need more too, but at least you can go out with your friends. He doesn’t have any friends. And he needs some, badly. I think when he can get his mind off your mother for just a few minutes, he’ll start to heal.”

“I’ll consider it, Pastor K. I don’t think it’s as bad as you say, but… yeah, you might be right,” Bea finally conceded as she got up and stepped to the door.

“When does the meeting end, Pastor?”

“Nine o’clock. Tuesdays and Fridays.”

Bea closed the door behind her and lit a cigarette in the hallway of the Church of the First Coalescence. Yup, that sealed the deal. She was definitely going to hell, if there was one. Smoking in church. She was the devil incarnate. 

But as she walked back to the apartment in the late afternoon sun, she thought about what the Pastor had said. And she knew she was right. Next week she would bring her dad into the Pickaxe, and if he broke down again… well, when he broke down again. It always happened. But she’d just let him go. She’d close up the place if it was too much, but she’d let him stay.

******************************

“Hi Mae,” Bea typed on her laptop.

“Hi Bea. You hyped for the trip to Bright Harbor tomorrow?”

“Ecstatic. Sorry, a lot going on here today. Signed the docs and I’ve got a check that makes me nervous to even look at. You want to come with me to deposit it tomorrow before we leave?”

“Can I come over tonight?”

She heard her dad walk in the door and thought about something.

“Hey Mae, can I come over there instead?”

“Sure! Really?”

“Yeah. Things are changing, Mae. I’m not sure how they’ll fall out in the end, but things are changing. I’ll be right over. But you’ll have to meet me at your door. I don’t do the power line thing.”

“See you in a few.”

Bea closed her laptop and stretched her legs.

“Hey Dad. You okay?”

“Sure! Bunch of bible thumpers, but they were okay.”

“Hey, do you mind if I sleep over at Mae’s tonight? I’m taking Gregg and Angus over to Bright Harbor early tomorrow. Germ will hold down the Pickaxe.”

“You mean Santello’s!”

“Heh. Yeah! I guess I do!”

“No problem Bea,” he said and gave her a peck on the cheek. He smelled of… not apartment. 

Bea threw together a hasty overnight bag and headed down to Mae’s house. Mae was waiting for her at the door.

“This is gonna be great Bea! Just like old times!”

Her enthusiasm was infectious. Bea tried not to be the downer she always had been.

“Come on in the kitchen. We have Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream!”

She greeted Mr. and Mrs. Borowski, then followed Mae into the kitchen.

“So, do you know how to get there? To Bright Harbor?”

“Mae, you just have to get on the Interstate and go North about five hours. Kinda hard to miss.”

“I should get a car.”

“You should get a job.”

“Touché!”

Mae stuffed her face with a huge spoonful of ice cream straight out of the box.

“Mae, you’ll get brain freeze like that!”

Mae’s eyes began to cross. “Already did!” she choked out.

“Mae,” Bea said as her friend slowly returned to sanity, “Have you thought about the future? What do you want to do, now that you’re out of college? Angus and Gregg will be moved out soon. And come fall, if everything works out as I hope, I might be in College Town.”

Mae looked at Bea as if she was stunned.

Bea shook her head. Mae had never put two-and-two together, obviously. In a few short months, Mae would be alone in Possum Springs. Well, not alone, but her closest friends would all be gone.

“Oh no!” Mae said as the realization came over her.

“Come on, Mae,” Bea said, putting the top back on the ice cream. “You’ve had enough. Let’s go to bed. I have a suggestion I’d like for you to consider.”

Mae scrabbled at the ice cream carton that Bea kept barely out of her reach.

“Would you stop being so tall?”

“Come on,” Bea said with a giggle as she put the ice cream back in the freezer.

Bea followed Mae up the stairs and into her old room. It looked so much smaller than she remembered it. And yet…

“Wow. It’s exactly the same,” Bea marveled.

Mae locked the door behind her and began taking off her clothes.

“Some things have changed,” she smiled evilly.

“Mae, no. Not tonight. Okay?”

Mae’s face dropped so fast Bea couldn’t help but laugh.

“Jeeze, Mae. Are you a sex fiend or what? Alright, but we don’t have to do anything, right?

Mae’s eyes lit up again like a Longest Night tree. “Noooo! Of course not!”

Bea shook her head, but took off her clothes and got under the sheet while Mae turned on a lava light and turned off the room light.

“Oh my god, you still have that light?”

“Sure do! And it still works too. Just takes a long time to get going,” Mae said as she climbed in beside Bea.

They watched the lava in the lava lamp slowly melt while Mae drew circles around Bea’s breasts lazily with her finger tip.

“Mae, I was thinking… If things work out and I get to go to college in the fall, what do you think about coming with me?”

The lazy 8s stopped and Mae looked at Bea.

“Back to college? Jeeze Bea, I don’t know. I crashed and burned last time.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t have me with you either. And you can help me get oriented on the campus.”

“You wanna share a dorm room?”

The lazy 8s began again.

Bea turned her head sideways, watching Mae’s finger meander it’s way across her chest.

“It wouldn’t be the worst thing I could imagine.”

“Me neither,” Mae smiled up at her. 

“I can’t afford to pay your tuition or anything, Mae. You’d still have to get your parents’ buy-in.”

“Oh, that wouldn’t be a problem. They’re still a little mad I dropped out. And maybe with you there…”

“Yeah. Maybe you wouldn’t freak out so bad,” Bea said, and started drawing little circles around Mae’s breasts too.

“I thought you weren’t gay, Bea?” Mae said as she turned her chest up.

“I’m not, Mae. But… you know, college age girls are known to… experiment on occasion.”

“Well experiment away!”

“So. About college. What do you think?”

Mae pushed Bea’s hand away and climbed on top of the gator girl.

“Bea, it would be the best thing ever. I didn’t think much about the guys leaving, because I knew I had you and Germ here. And I didn’t think much about you leaving because I had the guys here.”

“You don’t really think ahead much do you, Mae?”

“No. Not really.”

“So, how about it? You want to come with me back to college?”

“Of course I do, Bea,” Mae said, collapsing on top of her.

Bea held the little furball to herself. Poor immature kitten who had the body and desires of a woman, but mind still caught between the woman and the girl. 

She really would have missed Mae at college. She imagined all the drama and heartbreak that probably lay ahead, but it would be worthwhile. And in a flash, as Mae rolled off her to gaze at the still-melting wax in the lava lamp, she knew what her major was going to be. She knew where her life was going for the first time.

She kissed Mae passionately then, surprising and delighting the cat. To hell with gay or straight, gator or cat, pussy or cock, she loved her friend and her friend loved her. Tonight they were lovers. Tomorrow would take care of itself. Because for the first time in her life, Beatrice Santello actually knew what she wanted to be! And that was cause for celebration.


	16. Road Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How many crimes can be committed safely inside a 1977 Volvo 242? Gregg and Mae attempt to find out.
> 
> Got the image from Reddit. Not sure of the artist. But it's cute.

Bea opened an eye as dawn shone in through Mae’s window, but differently than it did in her room. Mae was sleeping on her back, the covers thrown back and with one arm and one leg dangling over the edge of the bed. Probably due to Bea’s presence in the far-too-small bed. Somehow, what her friend lacked in modesty she made up for in raw innocence. Bea didn’t want to hurt her, though probably she would have to in the end. Yet as attractive as her friend was, she couldn’t help but remember Casey and how she’d felt with him. 

She’d come to a conclusion though after Casey. Even if a relationship was doomed to failure, that wasn’t a good enough reason not to have that relationship. She’d learned a lot from Casey, and she was already learning a lot from Mae. And who could predict the future anyway?

She reached out and touched her friend in a most inappropriate place.

Mae smiled and opened her eyes.

“Hey Bea,” she croaked. “Good morning.”

“Good morning Mae. You still going with me to the bank this morning?”

“Sure. Just… give me a few minutes okay? We stayed up pretty late last night.”

“No problem Mae. Tell you what, I’ve got to go home and get the check anyway. Why don’t you meet me at the car behind the Pickaxe in about an hour. THat’ll give me time to clean up and change too.”

“Mmm” Mae murmured, closing her eyes again with a smile on her face.

Bea climbed over her and pulled her dress over herself, strapping up her boots and stuffing her underwear into her bag without bothering with it. She really needed to get a new outfit, she thought. This was pretty dated for a new college freshman.

She crept out of Mae’s silent house and out of the door, heading back to her apartment. The sun was still fresh on the horizon and dew sparkled on the grass of the houses. She’d never noticed that before - not since she’d been little. There was a bit of a chill in the air from the night still, and it made her wish she’d put her bra back on after all. But nearly no one was out at this hour on a Saturday morning, and she made it back into her apartment without getting any embarrassing stares from the few people she did see.

She bathed and dressed quickly, put the check in her bag, and headed out without waking her dad. Then she went to her car and waited.

And waited…

She looked at the clock on the dashboard. It was already nine am. Gregg and Angus would meet at the car at ten. She sighed and got out. Mae had overslept obviously. She walked back to the Borowski house and rang the doorbell. A few minutes later, Mae appeared, her eyes as big as saucers.

“Sorry Bea! Sorry sorry sorry!” she said at the door. “I’ll take the fastest shower ever! Wait for me?”

“Sure,” Bea said, but vaguely annoyed.

To be fair, Mae did make good time, but as they walked back to the car, Bea knew she wouldn’t have time to go to the bank. But with Mae’s incessant apologizing, she couldn’t make a big deal out of it. The bank would have to wait till Monday.

They’d just gotten back to the car when Gregg and Angus showed up with suitcases in tow.

“We’d better get moving,” Angus said as they stowed the luggage into the trunk. “We’re supposed to meet Gregg’s cousin by three so we have time to check out the apartment.”

“Shouldn’t be any problem,” Bea assured him.

They stopped at a gas station near the interstate, and Angus paid for a whole tank, which Bea was grateful for. Gregg and Mae came out of the store with arms full of bad snacks and drinks - which Bea couldn’t help but consider probably cost more than the gas.

“Gregg!” Bea admonished him as they got back into the car. “You work at the Snack Falcon. Don’t you get sick of that stuff? What have you got there anyway?”

“But Bea,” Mae interrupted in defense of her friend, “It’s a road trip! You gotta have junk food when you’re on a road trip!”

“There will be no vomiting in my car this time. You hear me? You feel sick, you tell me and I’ll pull over!”

But Gregg and Mae were playing catch-the-cheese-fish-in-your-mouth between the front and back seat already and didn’t pay her any attention.

“Angus?”

“I’ll let you know when to pull over,” he smiled back at her.

She did accept a few sour gummy worms though on the way though.

But the day was getting hotter, and the air conditioner was broken. Bea pulled over and the boys shed their shirts. Mae convinced her to take off her boots and dress, but fortunately she’d anticipated something like this happening and her underwear was pretty much indistinguishable from a bikini.

“Oh my god, Bea! That’s adorable!!!” Mae said after she’d pulled her dress over her head.

“What?”

“You have a little ankh on your bottoms!”

Bea looked down, rather proud of that little touch.

“Got it online. Hard to find things like this anymore. The ankh-fad is well and truly over.”

“Lemme see!” Gregg cried.

As awkward as it was, she turned enough to let him see the white ankh on the front of her panties.

“That’s awesome Bea! You are the Ankh-Goddess!”

“Aw, thanks Gregg. Now let’s get going before we get too late.”

The miles ticked by, and by the time they got halfway to Bright Harbor Gregg and Mae had exhausted all sources of entertainment that could be had without risk to life or limb, and had worried Bea when they began discussing those that did.

“Mae, I didn’t even protest when you and Gregg started mooning passing truckers, but I swear if you try and stick anything out of the window I’m going to stop right now!”

“We got them to honk their horns though!”

“You’re going to wash those windows after we drop off Gregg and Angus you know.”

“I already did, Bea,” Angus said in his best stoic voice. “I always carry wet-wipes.”

“Oh that’s just gross,” Bea said, but there was a note of levity in her voice too. It was a little bit fun to have the whole gang together again - so long as no one got permanently maimed.

And then they topped the last hill before the whole vista of Bright Harbor came into view. Even Bea had to admit that the city was beautiful, with the sun shining off the bay waters beyond.

“Wow. No wonder you want to move here,” Mae said.

“You’ve never been here before?” Gregg asked.

“Not since I was little. I remember the beach though.”

“I remember the beach too,” Bea remarked. “Bunch of tight-bodied roller skaters as I recall.”

“Yeah,” Angus and Gregg said in dreamy unison.

They followed Gregg’s directions and stopped outside of Gregg’s cousin’s house.

“Hi Jen!” Gregg said when she came out, introducing Angus, Mae and Bea.”

“Wow! You guys just come from the beach?”

“Na. Bea’s air conditioner doesn’t work.”

“Ah… I guess that explains Angus’ tighty-whiteys. Well, get your stuff out and get your pants back on. I’ll take you over there now. Thanks for bringing them Bea!”

“No problem. You’re taking them back tomorrow, right?”

“Yup. Going to a party tonight though, so it might be kinda late.”

Bea instantly looked at Mae, whose eyes had lit up at the word ‘party’.

Bea looked back at Gregg’s cousin. 

“Oh! You’re certainly welcome if you want to come! Beach party with some friends down at the pier. But don’t you have to get back tonight?”

Bea thought about it, but Mae’s pleading eyes made her decision.

“Okay, but we still have to drive back tonight, Mae. I won’t be drinking. And we can’t stay past ten.”

“YAYYYY!” Gregg exclaimed and Mae joined in, though when Angus started flapping his arms, it just looked weird.

“Alright, you guys go check out the apartment. Me and Mae will explore the town a little. Meet you back here around… when, seven?

Jen nodded. “Perfect. See you then!”


	17. Seaside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Bea and Mae meet some new people.
> 
> Image by Kilinah - a bit thick but still kinda appropriate.

Bea and Mae spent the afternoon strolling down the beachfront, looking at the hot bodies and stopping into some stores to try to find a bathing suit for Mae. Bea had decided her own underwear was close enough and that really no one would know the difference.

In the end they decided on just getting some orange bottoms that fit with Mae’s T-shirt that were on clearance. But Bea convinced her that they were cute when she belted the T-shirt with a complimentary blue-colored frilly sash. Then they stopped into a little shop and bought a couple of virgin piña coladas that they drank while people-watching.

“Oh my god, would you look at this guy in the white trunks?” Mae whispered and Bea glanced in the direction she was pointing.

As if the rippling abdomen wasn’t enough, the guy was packing.

“Fake. Stuffed some socks down there I bet,” Bea whispered back. “Besides, I thought you...”

Mae shrugged. “If you recall, I never actually said, did I? Besides, I can appreciate a good looking body as well as you, Ankh Goddess!”

“How about those two?” Bea said, indicating a pair of girls following the guy.

“Nice! I think that one on the left might be bigger than me! Say Bea, you wanna rent some skates or something? Suddenly I feel like doing something… active.”

“Feeling a little out of shape? Yeah. Me too. Let’s go see what we can find.”

They tried renting some roller skates, but neither Bea nor Mae could manage to keep from falling over on them, so they turned them back in.

“Hey! Let’s go in the water!” Mae suggested next.

Bea looked at her askance. “Mae, do you even know how to swim?”

“No. But we can’t go to the beach without getting our feet wet!”

Bea sighed, but followed anyway. The water was cold, but against the heat of the day it felt good and they got used to it quickly. But they soon got bored and just walked down the water’s edge looking for pretty shells.

“Hey!” called someone and Bea looked up.

Three guys were standing at a volleyball net. Not bad looking guys either, if a little young.

“Hey!” came the voice again, from the fox-guy holding the volleyball. “You girls wanna play?”

Bea looked around to see who he might be talking to. Mae looked up too.

“You mean us?” she called back.

“Sure! Come on, we won’t bite!” 

Mae looked at Bea who shrugged. 

“Can you play volleyball?” Bea asked Mae.

“Not really. We used to play in school some though.”

The guy was coming over to them.

“Come on, we’ve only got three. It’ll be fun. You can both be on my team!”

“We suck,” Bea said before regretting the choice of words.

“No problem. It’s just for fun,” he said, ignoring the opportunity for a risque pun, and immediately Bea started to like him better.

She looked back at Mae, but Mae was already heading towards the court.

“I guess so! I’m Bea. That’s Mae. We’re not from around here. Just visiting.”

“Glad to meet you Bea. I’m Kurt. Jeff’s the gator and the little shit is my brother Jon.”

Bea followed him back. “We really do suck, Kurt. Like… I’m not kidding.”

“Good. Maybe we’ll look better! Here. You serve. Just stand behind that rope and hit it over the net.”

“Okaaaaay…” she said, taking the ball.

She threw it in the air… and promptly blinded herself. The ball hit her head.

“Crap.”

Jeff and Jon laughed, and Bea threw the ball over to their side in disgust.

“Don’t worry about it Bea,” Kurt reassured her.

Jon served next. Fortunately it was rather soft. Mae got under it and bounced it back up. Kurt then bounced it up again right in front of Bea. She recognized his intent and jumped as high as she could. She didn’t get a solid hit on the ball, but it was enough to send it over the net - barely - where Jeff tried to block it, but it just hit his chest and fell to the ground.

“Nice Bea!” Mae said, and she couldn’t help but grin a little. Kurt served the next time but it went out of bounds.

“See,” Kurt said. “We suck too.”

“You do anyway!” his brother taunted.

“Shut up pipsqueak.” Kurt said while Jon served the next ball. 

The rest of the game was a comedy of errors, but amazingly the boys screwed up almost as much as Mae and Bea did. They played on for about an hour before calling it quits.

“That was fun,” Jeff said as they all headed back to the water to get cooled off. “You girls here long?”

“Na,” Mae said. “We gotta head back later after the party.”

“Party? What party?” 

“We don’t really know. We were invited to a party at the pier tonight. But we gotta head back home by ten.”

“Sounds like Lame Ken’s party,” Kurt said.

“Are you guys going?” Mae asked as they splashed into the water.

“Me and Jon can’t. Got a family thing tonight. But Jeff could go.”

“Yeah, if you two are coming, I’ll go. What time will you be there?”

“Probably around eight I guess,” Bea figured. “Is that too early?”

“Still light out. Party won’t really start till after dark at nine, but if you’ll be there, I’ll come early.”

“Great!” Mae laughed. “Now, how about somebody teach me how to surf!”

Kurt and his brother snorted. “On these dinky waves? Good luck with that.”

The afternoon passed and they had a pretty good, low-key time with the three locals until Bea felt it was time to be heading back.

“Well, good to meet you guys!” Mae said as they started heading back down the beach.”

“Yeah!” Bea echoed. “And see you later Jeff!”

“Hey, you want to give us your phone number? We’ll text you!”

Bea looked at Mae, who shook her head.

“You won’t believe it, but we don’t have cell phones.”

“What!?” Kurt exclaimed.

“Where on earth are you girls from? No cell phones? Are you like, from overseas or something?” Jon joined in.

Bea laughed. “Practically.. Possum Springs.”

“Never heard of it.”

“Not surprised. But we’re on IM,” Bea explained and gave them their ID numbers.

“Cool. Thanks! Maybe we’ll meet again sometime?”

“Maybe. Later!”

“Bye!”

Mae looked at Bea as they went back to their car. “Well that was pretty fun!”

“I suppose.”

“Do you like Jeff?”

Bea shrugged. “I probably should, being another gator. Pretty good looking but kinda young.”

Mae nodded. “Yeah. They all were cute. Jon’s a kid though.”

They got back into the car after brushing off all the sand they could. 

“I think they’re all in high school, Mae. At least that’s the impression I got.”

“Yeah. Jailbait.”

They drove back to Jen’s house with Mae hanging her feet out of the window, but Bea was in a good mood so she didn’t complain.


	18. Shower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Bea and Mae take a shower.
> 
> Image (well, really a mini-comic) by kenket.  
God but these two are so cute together.

“Hey Jen, can I borrow your phone? I need to call home and let my dad know we’re going to be late,” Bea asked when Jen answered the door.

“Sure! Here,” Jen said, handing her cell phone to Bea as she ushered them inside.

“Jeeze, things will sure be easier when Possum Springs gets cell phones,” Bea said as she dialed her home phone. 

*****

“No problem sweetie,” her dad said over the phone. “Don’t drink and drive though, alright? You can stay overnight if you want to. It might be safer.”

“Maybe, but I won’t be drinking. It’ll be late though. Don’t wait up.”

“Okay. Love you kid.”

“Love you too,” she said, then looked at the phone.

“How do you hang up?” she had to ask Jen, who showed her the button.

Mae and Bea looked around the house. It was an impressive house with tall ceilings. The place was immaculate, if a little sterile.

“Wow! Nice place Jen! Is this place yours?”

“Na. It’s my parents’. But it is kinda nice, isn’t it?”

Mae was eyeing a nude life-size fox-woman statue. “A fucking statue? Who has a fucking statue in their house?”

“Mae!” Bea chided her. “Please!? We’re guests here!”

“I guess it’s a bit much, isn’t it?” Jen said, somewhat embarrassed.

“It’s great,” Bea said, though despite the craftsmanship, honestly she was thinking that Mae was right.

“I used to think it was my mom when I was a kid,” Jen laughed nervously.

“Well that would sure be weird! Having a naked statue of your mom in your house!”

“I know, right?” Jen agreed uncertainly.

“So…. who is it?” Bea asked, admiring the skill that had gone into it closer and running her hands over the fur-shaped stone.

“My grandmother,” Jen said in a whisper.

Bea’s hand shot away immediately.

After Mae and Bea recovered from a giggling fit, Bea was first to be able to talk again. 

“So, where are Angus and Gregg?” she said, trying to change the subject.

“Oh, they’re upstairs taking a shower. Mom and dad are gone for a week so I have the house to myself. Hey, you want something to eat?”

Mae nodded joyfully and they went into the kitchen. Like the rest of the house, it was massive. There was even an echo. Bea pulled out a cigarette by habit but caught herself before lighting it. 

Jen produced a couple of sandwiches that she said her mom had made for her before they left and some chips.

“Well,” she said as Mae and Bea began scarfing on the free dinner, “my mom actually doesn’t make anything. She had ‘em delivered.”

“Must be nice,” Mae said between bites.

Jen shrugged. “I suppose. Sorry, but it’s all just stuff, you know? Sometimes I wish we lived in a trailer. At least I might get to see my dad once in a while.”

Bea thought of her dad, naturally.

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” she said, trying to reassure Gregg’s cousin after the statue debacle, though she realized how glad she was to have her dad around.

Then Angus and Gregg walked in, both dressed in swimwear.

“How soon are we leaving?” Bea asked.

“Well,” Gregg replied while stealing some meat from Mae’s sandwich, “we thought we’d go over as soon as you guys got back.”

Bea wrinkled her snout. “Sorry guys, but me and Mae got into a volleyball game at the beach. We stink. Jen, would you mind if we took a quick shower too?”

“Oh no problem! I’ll get you some towels,” 

“I see you found some swim trunks, Angus,” Mae said as they followed Jen out.

“Jen’s dads,” Gregg answered. “Fit perfectly!”

******

Bea accepted the towels from Jen and closed the door after her.

Mae was out of her suit before Bea turned back around.

“Wow! That was fast!”

“Look at this place, Bea! It’s bigger than my bedroom!”

“It’s bigger than my whole apartment,” Bea agreed.

Then they both looked at the massive glass-enclosed shower. The knobs, levers and various water nozzles seemed to spring from every corner.

Mae entered first, while Bea got undressed.

“Jeeze,” Mae said, staring at all the controls. “This thing needs instructions! You have any idea how to work this?”

Bea closed the door behind her and examined the fixtures. “Not a clue. I guess we start turning…”

But Mae had already cranked a knob at random. The sound of water rushing to it’s exit point filled the granite enclosure seconds before it erupted, but neither had a clue where it was going to come out - nor if it would be scalding hot or freezing cold.

“LOOK OUT!” Bea yelled just before it hit.

In fact, it came out from what seemed like a hundred nozzles, in a torrent, from all points overhead, as if they’d just stepped under a waterfall. The temperature was amazingly similar as well.

Fortunately, the soundproofing of the house was such that the two simultaneous screams weren’t heard by anyone else.

“TURN IT OFF!” Bea yelled while simultaneously clutching at the only warmth in reach which was, of course, Mae.

“I DON’T REMEMBER WHICH ONE IT WAS!!!” Mae yelled back, unwilling to relinquish her own death-grip on Bea.

“COME ON! TRY EM ALL!” Bea screamed while managing to tear herself away from Mae to start turning knobs.

Fortunately the initial shock wore off soon, since it seemed like they turned every knob in the place before finally redirecting the stream to a more conventional shower head and finding the temperature adjustment.

“Oh god!” Bea said, her eyes wide as saucers.

“S…sshit that was cold!” Mae said, still shivering. “Here, I found the soap. What do you say, wanna do me?”

“Dammit Mae, no. Let’s just take a damn shower like normal people, okay?”

Reluctantly Mae agreed, though she had to be reminded to look away a couple of times.

“Well, at least let me do your feet, okay?” she said when they were pretty much done.

Bea agreed and sat on the stone seat, now warmed nicely, and held up one foot.

Mae began massaging it and Bea closed her eyes. It did feel awfully good. She was even a little sad when Mae set it down and lifted her other foot. She might have let out a moan subconsciously.

“Mae, that was great. Here, have a seat. You deserve the same.”

“Ooo! That’s awesome!” Mae said, practically swooning as Bea tried to do a good job.

“Someday, Mae, we’ve got to get a pedicure and see what it’s like!”

“Or a massage,” Mae agreed.

“Hey, what about the other night?” Bea said, stopping and feigning outrage.

“Oh, you know what I mean,” Mae said, opening her eyes. “A real massage. You know, by a real professional… with no happy endings.”

Bea went back to work on Mae’s other foot but smiled to herself and muttered, “I dunno. I kinda like the happy endings.”

Finally they agreed it was time to get out. Unfortunately it took another five minutes to figure out how to turn the whole thing off.

Bea was dried off quickly after that, but Mae’s fur took significantly longer, and Bea used a hair dryer to speed up the process.

Then they both looked at their wet bikinis-slash-underwear dripping on a towel rack.

“But I’m so nice and dry now!” Mae complained.

“I know. I feel the same way. But it’s a beach party. We gotta. But we can at least rinse the sand out of them first.”

After much rinsing and wringing, they finally got dressed again and padded out of the bathroom and went down the long curved stairs. Angus, Jen and Gregg were in a side room playing a video game.

“That was a quick shower?” Angus asked.

“Well… it took us a while to figure out how to work it!”

“Oh jeeze, sorry guys,” Jen apologized. “I forgot to explain it!”

“It’s okay,” Mae laughed. “It was kinda fun, experimenting.”

Gregg looked at Angus and smiled.

“Gregg,” Bea scowled. “Experimenting _with_ the shower, not _in_ the shower!”

“Well, let’s get going,” Jen said, getting up and shutting off the massive wall-length TV.

“We’ll follow you in my car,” Bea explained. “So we can leave straight from there.”

“Sounds good. I’ll go slow,” Jen agreed.

******

The little convertible that pulled out of the garage a few minutes later made Bea roll her eyes. 

“Rich bitch,” Mae spat.

“Oh, Mae. She’s pretty nice, don’t you think?”

“For a rich bitch,” Mae replied.

“Now that’s just mean, Mae. It’s not her fault her parents are rich.”

“Bea, she has a naked statue of her grandmother in her house.”

Bea snorted. “Okay, that’s pretty weird.”

“Nice looking grandmother though!”

“Mae, I’m pretty sure it was sculpted when she wasn’t a grandmother yet.”

“Oh… yeah. I guess you’re probably right.”


	19. Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mae and Bea attend a beach party.
> 
> Image by Brightsketch.

When they got back to the beach the sun was just setting. Gregg, Angus and Jen headed over to where a group of perhaps ten people were hanging out under a long pier, but Bea and Mae decided to walk the pier first as the last rays of the setting sun sunk behind them and the giant-seeming moon rose on the horizon before them.

“God, that’s beautiful,” Mae said as they arrived at the end of the pier.

Bea sat at the end and Mae sat beside her, watching the moon rise imperceptibly before them, it’s glow bouncing from the shallow waves. She tore her eyes away to look at Mae, the moon’s glow in her friends eyes. She really liked this cat, even if she didn’t know why exactly. She took Mae’s hand and turned back to watch the moon-rise.

Finally the bottom of the moon crested the horizon and they stood up.

“Come on,” Bea said. “Let’s go be sociable.”

“I’ve not been much fun at parties since I got back, have I?”

Bea ruffled her hair. “Oh, don’t worry about it Mae. Let’s just go have fun.”

Mae took a deep breath and followed her friend back. As they walked over the people under they pier, they heard an acoustic guitar.

“Jeeze,” Bea scowled, “does there have to be one of those guys at every party?!”

But just as they got to the end of the pier and turned back, a new noise took over. Somebody had obviously brought a boom box of some sort, and the acoustic guitar was drowned out by the sound of an overly compressed bass drum beat and an impossibly perfect-pitched female singer.

“BRING BACK THE GUITAR!” Bea laughed over the thumping, but she had to admit she found the tune catchy at least.

“Hi Bea! Hi Mae!” said the gator boy from the volleyball game. He was holding out two plastic red cups.

“Hi Jon!” Mae said, taking the proffered drink happily.

“What’s this?” Bea asked, looking into the cup.

“Cheap-ass hard cider,” he smiled as she tasted it.

“Mmm! Not bad,” she admitted.

“There’s a keg underneath if you prefer beer. I don’t touch the stuff myself.”

“Na, this is fine. You know these people?”

Jon turned around and looked where a bunch of guys were gathered around while Jen and a few other girls danced to the music.

“Yeah. Locals. You’re with Gregg and Angus, right? Jen introduced them a while ago.”

Mae and Bea nodded.

“Okay, let me give you a rundown first. They guy with the stereo is Lame Ken.”

“What’s he some kinda dick or something?” Bea asked.

“Na. Got a bum leg. He’s okay actually. Does these parties most weekends. The girl in the red bikini dancing is his girlfriend Francis. The blonde cat is her friend Kotex but don’t call her that.”

Bea snorted and Mae giggled.

“Yeah. Long story. Anyway, Kurt and I don’t hang with this group much, but they’re okay anyway. Lame Ken’s dad is the Sheriff so the cops leave us alone pretty much as long as we don’t make any trouble.”

They were introduced to the others and it was clear that Angus and Gregg were having a blast. Mae even started dancing once she’d gotten enough alcohol to overcome her shyness.

“What about you, Bea?” Jon asked as they watched the dancers later, a bonfire providing the light now that the sun had truly sunk.

“Me? Sometimes. When I’m drunk enough.”

Jon shook her empty cup. “I can get you some more!”

“Na. I gotta drive back tonight.”

“Oh yeah. Hey, you wanna walk up the beach or something?”

Bea looked at the fellow gator. He was shorter than she was, and seemed sincere enough. 

“Fuck it, why not. Sure Jon. Let’s go for a moonlit stroll on the beach.”

Jon stood up and held out his hand. She slapped it away disgustedly, though a shift of the sand as she stood caused her to grab him for a second anyway.

“Sorry Jon. You don’t know me, I know. I’m a bitch. You should know that.”

“Not exactly a traditional girl then I assume.”

They walked towards the water’s edge as they talked.

“Jon, I run a hardware store in Possum Springs by myself. I can dead lift a 50 lb sack of Quikcrete and I’m in debt up to my eyeballs. I think that’s all you need to know about me.”

“Well, not quite all.”

Bea looked at him warily.

“You and Mae?”

“Oh. We’re best friends I guess. Why, you hoping to fuck me tonight before I leave?”

Jon said nothing and Bea immediately regretted what she’d said.

“Sorry Jon. You’re alright and I shouldn’t have said that. I’m just not very good at this stuff, you know?”

“You’re honest I suppose,” he said with a nervous chuckle.

Bea pulled a cigarette out of her bag and lit it. “Are you?” she asked, then thought about the cigarette. “Oh, and I smoke.”

They heard the patter of feet approaching behind them, which Bea immediately recognized.

“Hey guys!” Mae said. “Mind if I come with?”

“Na,” Bea said, blowing smoke out through her nostrils. 

“Watcha doin’?” Mae asked, oblivious to the obvious as usual.

“Moonlit stroll,” Bea said, realizing she really didn’t mind having Mae along. Made things less obvious.

“Ooo! How romantic!” Mae said, taking Jon’s hand.

“It is, isn’t it?!” Bea said with a bit of an evil tone and took his other hand.

“Er… this isn’t exactly how I’d imagined it,” Jon laughed, “but I don’t mind!”

“So what do you like to do Jon?” Mae asked, swinging his arm in exaggerated arcs. “Other than play vollyball with nerdy girls?”

“Oh, not much. Mostly I’m a manager at a pizza place just a few blocks inland.”

“Bea owns a hardware store!” Mae said, as if revealing a secret of the ages.

“Yeah, so I heard,” he laughed, looking up at Bea. 

“I run it. I don’t own it,” Bea corrected.

“Hey, you ever skinny dip in the ocean?!” Mae asked, and Bea sighed. It was bound to happen.

“Um… no.”

“You know what it means? Skinny dipping?”

“Yes, Mae, I know what it means.”

“Wanna?”

“Mae,” Bea said with a firmness in her voice that she hoped would get through. “I am not taking my bikini off in public.”

“Didn’t ask you!” Mae laughed and pulled down Jon’s shorts.

Jon screeched the cutest “Aaagh!” and covered himself reflexively.

“Sorry Jon,” Bea puffed. “Meet drunk Mae.”

“MAE!”

“Come on Jonnyboy! Let’s go!”

Jon looked back at Bea.

“Don’t look at me, I’m a neutral observer. You do you.”

Mae had waded into the water and threw something that hit John full in the face. 

Bea sighed and sat down at the water’s edge. Yup. Mae’s bikini bottom. Jon chased Mae into the water, as was practically fore-ordained. Bea watched the events unfold before her almost as if watching a bad movie. 

Yup, there’s the slow motion chase through the water, with the boy inevitably catching the girl - who most likely wasn’t trying all that hard to get away. Oh! And she goes underwater, knocking him down. So… did she….

Stage two complete. Guy’s swim-trunks now removed as well and thrown up on the beach as guy stands back up feigning embarrassment and the chase begins again. 

Bea pulled a last drag on her cigarette, knowing it was going to get wet at this rate. She tossed it and got up, lumbering over to where Jon’s trunks lay and picked them up, no longer caring to watch the antics since she had seen this sort of movie before. She dutifully grabbed Mae’s bikini bottom as well and took it with her back to the dry sand.

One more requirement, Bea thought, before the tableau could be considered complete. It would take some wrassling first, but it was bound to…

And there it was. The two silhouettes in the moonlight playing out the climax of the story. The top comes off and they stand breathing hard, their laughter dying out as they realize they are standing face to face now, nothing between them but water and air.

And then they come together.

Bea left her bag and swimwear on the beach as she waded out to the two. Mae handed her the bikini top without even looking, as the two continued their passionate embrace. Meanwhile Bea splashed her way back to shore with bad grace.

She lit another cigarette, sat on the sand and stared at the moon, debating if she should go back to the party with their swimwear. But alas, she wasn’t the prankster type. No, she would just wait here till the story played itself out. It wouldn’t go too far, she knew. There’s only so much you can do in the ocean, and Mae couldn’t hold her breath for all that long.

Perhaps if she wasn’t there they could have sneaked out of the ocean and gotten themselves covered in sand while letting nature take it’s course, but that wasn’t going to happen. She was going back home tonight, and Mae was going with her, no matter her protests.

The two had gone back to playing in the ocean while Bea thought about her own feelings. It wasn’t something she spent a lot of time doing, but she wondered if she shouldn’t be having some feelings of jealousy or something. She liked Mae, and after the last few days it was clear she liked her a lot, yet now, with Mae frolicking in the ocean with some boy she barely knew, Bea felt nothing but happiness for her friend. At most she was just a little irked that she was left alone here while they played around.

“Hey Bea, could you bring us our swimsuits?” Mae called a while later.

“Fat chance!” Bea called back, standing and dangling them like carrots in front of a horse. “Here they are! Come get em yourselves.”

Though she could only make out their silhouettes against the rising moonlight, they were coming closer and she could hear Jon begging Mae to bring his back, but she kicked him and ran out of the water.

Bea handed Mae her clothes which she quickly got into, while Jon tried to cover himself as he climbed out of the low surf.

Bea chuckled and tossed his trunks to him, which he caught in midair - exposing himself reflexively.

“What do you think, Bea?” Mae asked, not taking her eyes off the embarrassed gator.

“Well, to give him credit, it is a little cool with the breeze and all. Probably not the best conditions for impressing us with his manliness.”

“That’s right! Why, I’m downright massive in the right circumstances!” Jon protested as he shoved himself inside the trunks.

Bea decided she liked the guy. He could at least take a joke.

“Mae, it’s getting late. I think we need to be thinking about getting back.”

“Can I walk you to your car?” Jon asked.

“Sure!” Mae said and the three began the long trudge back up the beach, stopping by to say goodbye to Angus and Gregg.

“Will you be back again?” Jon asked as they approached Bea’s car.

“Oh, probably not, often,” Bea said. “It’s quite a ways from home, but with Angus and Gregg moving here, we’ll surely drop by once in awhile.”

“Sorry Jon,” Mae said, “but it was fun!”

“It was,” Jon said, and gave Mae a little kiss, which she returned with gusto.

“I’ll write you on IM,” he said as she got in the car.

“You’d better!” she laughed as Bea started the car. 

“Say hi to Kurt and Jeff!” she called back as Bea drove off.

Bea turned on the radio on low, and Mae began fiddling with it till she found a love-song station.

“Had fun then?” Bea asked.

“The best. Jon’s pretty cute, isn’t he?”

“Yup. I suppose so. And apparently you’re not…”

“I don’t know what I am Bea,” Mae said. “I just like to have fun, you know?”

“Yeah. I guess I kinda am too.”

“You still got my dry clothes in your bag?”

“In the bag in back.”

“Don’t look, I’m gonna change out of these wet things.”

“Mae, don’t you think I’ve seen you often enough these last few days? Kinda silly thing to say isn’t it?”

“Heh. Yeah, I guess so.”

Soon she had the wet clothes off, but instead of changing, she let the wind from the open window dry her off while she hung a foot out of the window.

“Mae, be careful. We’re going pretty fast on the Interstate.”

“I will,” she said, laying her head on Bea’s lap while putting both feet slightly out of the window. Bea decided it was safe enough.

“Feels good,” Mae said, luxuriating in the night breeze on her fur.

An hour passed as Mae dried off, and both just sang along to sappy songs on the radio that neither would ever admit knowing in company with others. Bea considered how nice it was to be able to hang out with someone who knew her this well, even if Mae was a little broken.

Finally Mae climbed halfway over the seat to rummage her dry clothes out of Bea’s bag, her butt practically in Bea’s face.

“Mae! Do you mind?”

“Oh, don’t lie. You like my ass.”

Bea laughed. “It’s alright,” she admitted.

Suddenly something fluttered around in the rear view mirror like a large rectangular moth in the back seat, flitting around from one side to the other in the wind.

Bea’s heart stopped. 

“Mae! Get that! It’s my check!”

Mae turned back around, “What?”

But before Bea could say anything else, the weird moth flew out of Mae’s window and Bea hit the brakes hard.


	20. Maebea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I thought seriously about ending it here, but there’s a few scenes left to tidy things up so a couple chapters left prob. And yes, there will be a Part 3. Sorry! (not sorry). 
> 
> If you were looking for huge revelations or unexpected plot twists, not so much with this one. But my feelings about NitW have always been that the best parts of the story were the little things. Feeding the rats, breaking neon lights, wearing cups on your ears, fucking up at a party. 
> 
> This may be a bit more adult in nature obviously, but I still try to capture the little things. So I hope it doesn’t seem like I’m ending on too much of a whimper. I don’t think it is. I think it’s ending on a very, very big note. Not a note you haven't heard before, but that doesn't make it a bad note.
> 
> Image by Artsyrobo

“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!” 

Bea was out of the car and running back down the interstate before Mae managed to extricate her butt from between the dashboard and the windshield.

“Bea! What was it?”

“MY CHECK!!!” Bea called back over her shoulder.

Mae’s eyes went wide and she began repeating the same mantra as she ran back to catch up to Bea.

Fortunately the moonlight was bright, but after ten minutes of searching, neither had found it yet.

“You think it might be on the other side of the road?” Mae asked.

“Oh god! There’s no way to tell. I’m not even sure how long it took me to stop or how far back it was!”

“I’m going to look on the other side,” Mae declared.

“Watch for cars Mae,” Bea said.

“I will,” Mae said and padded across the asphalt to the other side.

Bea turned to look at her and realized Mae was still naked.

“Mae!” she called.

“Find it?”

“No, but you don’t have any clothes on!”

Mae looked down at herself just as a big truck came barreling by. It’s horn began to blare.

“You okay?” Bea called after it had passed, but Mae was safely off the road.

However, the truck continued to brake, coming to a stop quite a distance beyond Bea’s car, and pulled to the side of the road.

“Fuck it,” Mae yelled. “I’m gonna find that check!”

Bea turned back and continued to scan along the ditch on her side.

A short time later, a burly bear that could have passed for Angus’ older brother came up to her.

“You gals okay?”

“Yeah. Long story. A check flew out of my window. A very important check.”

“Want some help?”

Bea nodded, a desperate look in her eyes. “That would be great mister!”

“Name’s Clark. And you are?”

Bea shook his hand, unable to muster a smile. “I’m Bea. Bea Santello. That’s Mae over there.”

“Bea, do you know your friend is naked?”

“I told her that, but she insists on finding the check first!”

“Wait… how fast were you going?”

“Oh, probably sixty or so. But the skid marks started just over there.”

“Bea, unless the wind from my truck blew your check this way, I’d say you’re a good thousand or so feet from where it would have flown out.”

Bea turned to the big man. “Really?”

“That would be my guess, unless you react with the speed of light. Any other cars or trucks come by since you stopped?”

Bea looked back down the road. “No, you’re the first I think.”

“Let’s go farther down. White check I assume?” 

“Kinda light yellow. A big check. Business-size, you know?”

“Yeah, let’s head that way.”

“MAE!” Bea called. “Clark says it’s probably farther back!”

“Okay!”

“I’ll go over to the other side,” Clark offered, “Most likely if it’s on this side, you’ll see it in the ditch. The other side’s got more open space.”

Bea looked at the trucker once more, hope pleading in her eyes. “You think we’ll find it?”

“Only one way to find out. Come on, sooner we get back farther, the better.”

Bea started trotting back farther. The night was blessedly still so she could hear Mae and Clark talking as they searched.

“Girl, you’d better go get some clothes on. This might take a while. You can catch up.”

Mae reluctantly agreed and headed back to Bea’s car.

“I’m so sorry Bea!” she called as she trotted back.

“NOT YOUR FAULT!” Bea assured her, though Mae was running the other direction now.

A few minutes later, Bea saw something fluttering on the fence that bordered the highway and waded through weeds to check it out. Unfortunately it was just a scrap of paper towel.

“Should be somewhere around here,” Clark called over to her.

“Okay,” Bea called back and began looking closer at anything that caught her eye.

A while later, Mae came running back. 

“Find anything?”

“Nothing. Maybe go help Clark. He’s got a lot more area to cover over there.”

They continued searching for nearly an hour, and Bea was surprised just how many things could look like a check on the side of the road. They continued expanding the area, but as hard as they tried, no one found it. A few more cars and a big truck passed, but none stopped.

Finally Clark headed over to Bea.

“Bea, I don’t think you’re going to find it. We should have seen it by now if it was anywhere around. Are you sure you can’t just get whoever wrote it to write you another?”

Bea thought about that. “Yeah. Actually I probably can. I sure as hell don’t want to.”

“Sorry girl,” said Clark, “But I’ve got to get going.”

“It’s okay,” Bea said, slowly resigning herself to the fact that it wasn’t going to be found. “Thanks for all your help, Clark.”

“Don’t be too worried, Bea. I’m sure you can get it replaced.”

Bea shuddered and took a deep breath. 

“I hope so,” she said, and extended a hand to the stranger. “Mister, I really appreciate your help anyway.”

“Thanks,” he said, shaking her hand. “Well, good luck Bea!”

“You too, Clark. Drive careful I guess.”

She watched him trudge back, and it struck her that there were indeed decent people in the world. She’d not even got his last name. But she decided he was probably right, and headed over to where Mae was still searching.

“Mae. I think we have to give it up.”

Mae looked up at her, the nightmare eyes twinkling with tears in the moonlight.

“Oh Bea!”

Bea embraced her friend and assured her repeatedly that it would be alright.

“They’ll write another check, Mae. It sucks, but it’s not the end of the world.”

Mae looked up at her, and she summoned up her strength to look confident. More confident than she felt, but it hadn’t been Mae’s fault. She should have put it in the glove-box.

“It’s not your fault, Mae. Really it’s not.”

“You don’t blame me?”

“Hell no. Lighten up, Mae. I’ll give them a call tomorrow. Why, I’ll probably have a replacement by the end of next week. Maybe sooner!”

She took Mae’s hand and led her back across the highway and they walked slowly back to her car.

“I guess I was pretty shitty tonight,” Mea said dejectedly.

“Shitty? How?”

“I didn’t really think about it till a while ago, but I sorta stole your boyfriend didn’t I?”

“Who, Jon? Jeeze Mae, I only just met him.”

“But… you were walking up the beach. I was thinking that I was acting like a real dick. I didn’t mean to!”

“I know, Mae. It’s okay. Wasn’t exactly any sparks flying between us anyway.”

“But then you had to sit there and wait for us. I’m such a goddamned asshole I didn’t even think about you!”

“Well… you two were having fun. I didn’t mind… too much.”

“Bea, you’re not just my best available friend. You’re my best friend forever.”

Bea stopped. “You mean that? I can be pretty bitchy. And I really do think I’m mostly hetero.”

Mae hugged her tightly. “I don’t care Bea. That stuff is fun. Hella fun. But I don’t care about it nearly as much as just hanging out with you. You’re… you care about me. And I care about you. If you get married and have fifty kids, we can still be best friends, can’t we?”

“Sure Mae. And, for what it’s worth, I kinda like doing ‘that stuff’ with you too.”

Mae released her and they continued back hand-in-hand as the night grew later and cooler.

As they got back to the car, Bea looked back down the now-deserted highway in the moonlight while Mae got in the passenger side.

Yeah, surely they’d cut her another check. It would be embarrassing, but surely they would.

She got in the car and turned the key, but didn’t start the engine. Instead she just let the radio play quietly. The windows were still down, and - had it not been for the whole check thing - it would have been a beautiful night.

Mae was looking at her, still with that forlorn look in her eyes, and Bea smiled a little. Then Bea rolled up the window and took off her bikini top.

“Come here, Mae,” she said to the poor cat.

“We’ve got a long way back still, you know,” Mae said, but Bea could see a sparkle in her eyes.

“We’re not going back tonight, Mae. We’re going to stay right here. Now come to me and kiss me or I swear I’ll put it back on again.”

A few cars passed by as the night grew late. None stopped to check out the old broken down car at the side of the road, or noticed the fogged-up windows.

Even later, as the moon crossed the zenith, the driver’s side window rolled down again and the glow of a cigarette could be seen by anyone passing by, but no one did for hours.

Bea was lounging with her back to her door, letting the slight breeze cool herself while Mae did likewise against her door.

“Well, if nothing else, I hope you believe me now when I tell you I don’t blame you, Mae,” Bea said in almost a whisper.

“I do. But I’m still sorry, just the same.”

“Well, let’s just forget that now, right? Tonight it’s just me and you.”

“Our night,” Mae sighed, and began to play footsies with Bea, who giggled and tickled Mae’s breasts with her own feet, which had much longer reach. Mae gasped and covered them.

“We haven’t properly broken in the back seat yet,” Bea said with a puff of smoke directed at Mae.

Mae laughed and began to climb over the seat, in an awfully familiar pose.

“I knew you liked my ass!” she said before tumbling into the back seat as Bea gave the offending body part a healthy slap.

Bea began to follow her friend back. “What? Don’t you like mine too?”

“What ass? Is there an ass underneath that huge tail somewhere?”

Bea completed her slither into the back seat and gave Mae ample proof that she did, in fact, have an ass underneath her tail. However, while trying to suffocate her friend, she stopped.

“BEA!” she heard the muffled laugh of her friend behind her, and she released her, all the while staring at something on the floor.

“M…Mae?” she said, a nervous quiver in her voice.

“Don’t stop!” Mae said, but then she saw Bea’s eyes as she turned back towards her. “What?”

“Mae, please… look on the floorboard in front of me. I… can’t.”

Mae looked puzzled, but nodded and squeezed beside her.

There, on the floor in the back seat, was a rectangular piece of paper. Mae touched it carefully and brought it up into the moonlight.

The logo was from Home Badger.

Against the silence of the late night, a small click was heard, as if a glove-box was opened and closed quickly. Then the driver’s side window went up again and once again slowly fogged up as the heat inside the car caused condensation to form against the much cooler night air. Sounds were heard by no one but fireflies, and the slight, erratic rocking of the small car went unobserved by anyone except the moon as it crept across what was left of the sky. The noises and motions didn’t stop until the moon had traveled almost all the way across the sky. 

“Still a while till dawn,” Bea said quietly. “Birds haven’t even started chirping yet.”

“I’m tired,” Mae admitted. “And hot.”

“Wanna lie on the hood to cool down?”

“What about cars?”

“Nobody’s on the road this late.”

“You come with me?”

“Of course.”

Bea got out first and sprawled across the hood, with Mae joining her.

“Feels good,” Bea said, closing her eyes and not caring that her spread-eagled attitude was just about as un-ladylike as it was possible to be.

“Damn good,” Mae said, legs and arms thrown atop her friend without care.

They lay there dozing for another couple of hours, oblivious to the world. The occasional car or truck would pass, stirring a breeze across the two, but they remained unnoticed. Finally the stars began to dim and the eastern sky grew faintly brighter, and Bea got up and helped Mae back into the car where they slept the morning away in the back seat. The birds began to chirp, and the whine of cars passing by became more common, but still the two slept on.

“Hey Bea,” Mae said finally, sitting up groggily.

Bea smiled before opening her eyes. “Hey Mae.”

“I gotta pee.”

“Me too. And I’m hungry. Let’s get our clothes on and find someplace to eat.”

Mae nodded, and they dressed and crawled back up to the front seat.

Mae closed her eyes, and Bea squeezed her hand.

Mae looked at Bea and Bea looked at Mae. There were words that both wanted to say, but both knew they were words that might change their lives in ways they weren’t sure they wanted. So they just looked at each other.

Bea smiled, and nodded, then turned back towards the road and turned the key.

Instead of starting, the engine just made a clicking noise.

“Oh shit!” Mae said.

“Oh shit!” Bea agreed. 

Then they both began laughing, and all was right with the world, even though the car wouldn’t start.


	21. A New Janitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conclusion of Beatrice Santello Part 2. 
> 
> Part 3 will be the obvious - in college with Mae and Jackie. But the story hasn't 100% jelled in my head yet so it will likely be a while before it's ready to start on. Hope you've enjoyed this though. 
> 
> Image by AnimatedJames

Both Bea and Mae sat on the roof of the car in their swimwear, dangling their feet and thumbing passing cars. Unsurprisingly, every time they did so, someone would pull over. However, it took three tries before that someone actually had jumper cables. And it was unexpectedly a woman in a pickup truck - who immediately reminded Bea of one of Germ’s aunts.

“Ya’ll girls need a ride?” said the hefty bird-lady as Bea and Mae ran up to the passenger side. 

“Not exactly,” Bea said. “What we really need is just a jump start. The car runs fine, the battery just died. Do you have jumper cables?”

“Why sure! Hang on, let me get turned around.”

Mae looked at Bea proudly as they walked back to their car. “Told you it would work!”

“I should carry a spare bikini in my car at all times instead of a spare tire. But I doubt this lady pulled over because of our legs!”

Mae shrugged. “You never know. Did you see her plates?”

“Yeah. I wonder what she’s doing all the way up here?”

Bea had already opened the hood on her car, and soon the lady had turned the truck around and popped her hood. In less than five minutes, Bea’s car was running again, and she shut the hood while the lady took the jumper cable from her and closed her own.

“Now, you might have a bad alternator girls. Batteries don’t just die on their own you know.”

“No, we sorta left the radio on all night.”

The lady cocked her head to one side. “You been out here all night? Doing what!?”

Mae reflexively looked at Bea and giggled.

“Oh… I see. None of my business anyway. Well, you girls be careful now. You should be good to go.”

“Thanks again, Ma’am!” Bea said as the big bird-lady got back in her truck and waved before checking for oncoming cars, then making a U-Turn back onto it.

Bea looked at the radio and switched it off. Mae nodded her agreement and they began the long drive back to Possum Springs with Mae’s feet out the side window again and her head in Bea’s lap.

“So…” Mae said as the miles slowly passed by. “When are you thinking of going to college?”

“I think this fall semester will be too soon. I’ll probably need to stay on as manager of the Pickaxe…”

“Ol’ Santello’s!” Mae reminded her.

“Oh, yea. Ol’ Santellos. Anyway, they’ll probably want me to stay on as manager for at least a year I figure. So probably fall of the next year.”

“Couldn’t Germ do it? He’s been working there a long time.”

“He has, but they’ll want someone experienced.”

“Oh. Well that kinda sucks for you I guess.”

“Mae, I’m going to college. Even if it’s not that soon, it’s still awesome!”

“I suppose. At least we’ll have plenty of time to get ready. Make sure we can get a dorm room or something.”

“You think we should look into an apartment instead? More privacy.”

“Ooo! Share an apartment with you? That would be so… adult!”

“Well, it’s a possibility anyway. Say, what were you majoring in anyway Mae? I never knew.”

“Didn’t really have a major. I figured I’d worry about it once I got all the standard stuff done. What about you?”

Bea smiled. “I’ll tell you later. And like you said, it won’t really matter the first year anyway.”

“Say! Think we can be in classes together?”

“Probably not. You’ve already got some 101-level classes in so you’ll be ahead of me.”

Mae’s head rocked from side to side on her lap and Bea looked down at her for a second.

“What?”

“Failed ‘em all Bea. I’ll have to start over.”

“Failed them ALL?! 1st level classes? How did you manage that?”

Mae shrugged. “I was pretty fucked up, Bea. I barely went out of my room by the end. I stopped going to classes. But I think I could do it with you there! But…”

“What?”

“Bea, I don’t want to pressure you, but I don’t think I could do it without you. What if you find a boyfriend or something while we’re there?”

“Oh Mae, don’t worry about it okay? At very worse you could come back to PS again. Besides…. I’m not looking for a boyfriend. At least, not for the foreseeable future! You’re a pretty good lover, girl.”

Mae hugged Bea’s hips and smiled. “So… you won’t feel I’m pressuring you to stay with me then?”

“No Mae. Besides, it’ll be good to have someone there from home. I met a lot of the college kids at those parties, but I don’t really know them. Except Jackie. Oh god! I just realized! Now they’ll all know I wasn’t in college before!”

“Well, better late than never?”

“Yeah. Better late than never.”

The afternoon grew later before the whine of the tires finally changed into the drone they always made when passing the bridge into Possum Springs, and Bea slowed down as they approached the town.

“Will you miss it? Possum Springs I mean? And your dad?” Mae asked as she sat back up and put on her seat belt.

“Oh hell yes,” Bea said as she pulled down the back road that led to her normal parking place behind the Pickaxe. “And no. Mostly I’ll miss the memories and places where I grew up. But I’m ready Mae. I’m soooooo ready!”

Bea stopped, shifted the car into park, and got out. The warehouse door was open. She hadn’t expected that.

“Odd. You think Germ opened without me?” Bea asked, but Mae just shrugged and they stepped in.

“Hello?” Bea called. 

No one was in the warehouse though, so Bea opened the door that led down the hall to the store with Mae just behind her.

She stepped out and shocked to see her dad waiting on customers behind the counter while Germ was helping some other people in the aisles.

“Bea,” Mae whispered.

“Yeah?”

“Your dad seems to be doing fine. You wanna maybe just head to your apartment instead?”

Bea turned back to her, and the words that Preacher Karen had said came back to her.

“You know what? You’re right Mae. Let’s just slip back out through the warehouse.”

She took one last look at her dad. He was older, and frankly pudgier than he used to be, but he seemed to be doing just fine, without her to remind him of his dead wife.

“You going home Mae?” Bea asked as they walked down the back road. “Your mom and dad are probably worried.”

“I should. And I guess I can finally break the news about college to them too. Right?”

Bea stopped for a second and thought of something.

“What?” she said distractedly. “Oh! Sure. The deal is done. You can tell anyone you want. But Mae… what if my dad is okay working at the Pickaxe without me?”

“Sure looked okay to me! But you know how I feel about the whole thing. You got pissed enough at me last time I said anything that I’m staying out of it!”

“Mae, if he is okay - without me there… Maybe I can go in the fall semester after all! He can certainly manage better than me. Well, if he keeps up with inventory properly anyway.”

Mae gulped. “This fall? THIS fall? Oh... “

“Oh, you’ll do okay Mae. I’ll be with you, remember! And besides, Angus and Gregg are going to be leaving Possum Springs soon anyway. You’ll be all alone if you don’t come with me!”

Mea nodded. “You’re right. Okay, let’s get to planning then. We’ve got all summer still.”

“Oh Mae! It’s really happening! I’m going to college! Oh my god, I want to celebrate! Mae, do you understand what this means to me?”

“You want to celebrate?”

“Yeah! What do you want to do Mae. Anything. Let’s go party!”

“Just one question… When does the Pickaxe close?”

Bea smiled. “Jeeze Mae! You never used to be like this! What turned on your sex drive?”

“You did! Well, I’ve always had a pretty high sex drive. I just… kept it to myself. You know what I mean?” Mae said, a nervous look in her eyes.

“Heh. Do I ever. I’ve got something to show you in my room as proof. But you need to go home first right?”

“I can make a phone call,” Mae said, eyeing Bea with a sparkle in her eye.

Bea did a quick time calculation, then she whispered conspiratorially in Mae’s ear.

“Okay, come with me. My parents are gone for two hours! I’ve always wanted to say that.”

An hour and a half later, they were taking a bath together at Bea’s apartment. The bath was still far too small for them, but it no longer bothered Bea. She’d come to accept that - whatever exactly her feelings for her friend were, they were now far more than platonic, and to pretend otherwise was no longer an option.

“Yeah, but still… Angus?!” Mae was saying.

“Hey, that was a long time ago,” Bea protested. “Besides, he’s a pretty fun guy if you’re nerdy enough. Say, have you ever seen him naked? Is my toy about right?”

“Sorry Bea. I think only Gregg has had that privilege. I kinda doubt it though. I saw Gregg once! We had a pissing contest.”

“Ew! Really?”

“Yeah! I lost though. But to be fair, he did have a good four-inch head start.”

“Well still. So… if you had one…”

“Who says I don’t?” Mae said, pouting as she lounged back against Bea’s chest in the bath.

“Mae, you don’t have one. You’re not the type.”

“I’ve thought about it.”

“That I don’t doubt. But… if you were to get one, hypothetically, what kind would you get?”

Mae mused about that for a while. 

“Probably a cat I guess. I mean, that's what I should like best, right?”

“Not a gator boy’s like Jon’s?”

“Hehe. It was pretty small, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, but you know you never let on to them, right? Besides, it was kinda cute.”

“Yeah. It was cute,” Mae chuckled, but then turned wistful. “He was nice though. Kissed me down there even.”

“Should I be jealous?”

“Probably. But you’re not. If you were I couldn’t tell you everything.”

“I’m not. I worry about that a little, Mae. I think I should be, but I’m really not. Would you have done him?”

Mae closed her eyes. “Yeah. I’d have done him. If he wanted to... and was nice.”

“Oh, I think he wanted to.”

“But he took you on a walk before me,” Mae said, turning around to face her. “Would you have done him?”

Bea shook her head. “No. I think I learned something with Casey about myself. And with you for that matter. I couldn’t do it without having spent a lot more time with somebody. I’d had to know him a whole lot better - and like him of course. Plus, the more time I spend with someone, usually the more I turn them off.”

“I’ve spent a lot of time with you, and you don’t turn me off.”

“Yeah, but you’re weird.”

“You are too. A little.”

“I am. A little,” Bea admitted.

Mae kissed Bea then, and then lay against her, chest to chest in the cooling water of the bath.

“Bea, you never told me. What’s your major going to be?”

Bea took Mae’s shoulders and pushed her away in order to look directly at her.

“Psychology.”

Mae sat back against the far side of the small tub, looking at her friend.

“Psychology? Like… to be a psychiatrist?”

Bea nodded, now more confident than ever what she wanted to be.

“For your dad? Bea, it takes years to become a psychiatrist, and I’m not even sure if it’s ethical to try and treat your own dad.”

“Not for my dad, Mae. Is it ethical to treat your lover?”

Mae suddenly saw it.

“Really? Do you think you could help me?!”

“A hell of a lot better than that damn Dr. Hank can at least! I just hope I’m not fucking you up with all this,” she said, indicating her naked body.

“I sure hope not too!” Mae said, “but I haven’t had another bad dream since we started getting serious. So… I think it’s okay at least.”

“It was Germ that convinced me. He was talking about one of his uncles - a janitor of all things. But he was talking about how the janitor was proud of what he does. He fixes things. It came back to me when one of Germ’s aunt’s fixed my hand after I fucked it up over Casey. I want to fix things, Mae. But like a good janitor or doctor, I can’t until I get the tools to do the job right. Going to college is how I get my tools. And I’m going to need them, Mae. Because there are a lot of fucked-up people out there. Hell, I’m as broken as anybody! But somebody has to start fixing things. Even if just a few things, I’m going to try my best.”

“I don’t know if I can be fixed, Bea,” Mae said, her eyes turning both sad and proud of Bea’s choice. “I’m pretty messed up. Maybe even more than you think I am. In fact, I’m pretty sure I am.”

“I can try. I can at least try, Mae.”

The door to the apartment opened.

“Bea? I saw your car. You here?”

Bea looked at the wide open bathroom door. 

“Oh shit!” she said, her eyes going wide.

“Oh shit!” Mae said, looking at her friend with an ear-to-ear grin.

“Oh shit!” said Mr. Santello as he stepped into the bathroom.

The End of Beatrice Santello Part 2.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really hold with the whole "straight/gay" thing all that much. I'm simply not the same person I was 10 years ago. I don't think Bea is straight or gay. And neither is Mae. I think they're attracted to each other, just like Bea was attracted to Casey in Part 1. I think anyone can be attracted to anyone. A propensity for one gender is not a law. Bea started out this story trying to keep Mae at arms' length despite her own almost-subconscious attraction to her, because she was convinced she had a STRAIGHT label attached to her. Mae was even worse because she stopped talking to Bea because she READ that label and believed it. That's really what this story was about - losing the labels, even those you assign to yourself. Bea is still worried that her feelings for Mae won't last - as is Mae for that matter. And maybe they won't, but that's life. For now, they're on the life-road-trip together and that's enough.


	22. EPILOGUE - Orientation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to drop this little teaser for Part 3.
> 
> Image by Slugbox. I think I’ve used it before, but I like her attitude and it works for this Epilogue.

It was a late summer Friday night when Bea and Mae drove into College Town. Freshman orientation began on the following Monday, but Bea insisted they get settled in their new apartment near the campus in plenty of time. Mae was nervous after her last attempt at college, but Bea tried to assure her that this time things would be different.

They pulled into the apartment complex and Bea tried to remember which building they were in, finally finding it at last. They’d been here before when they signed the lease, but that was in the daylight and only for a short time. The apartment itself was small - a one-bedroom affair at the bottom of the building. Frankly, it was the cheapest they could find within walking distance of the university, but Bea had insisted they keep their expenses as low as possible. Mae hadn’t argued. She knew that every penny saved was one penny less that her parents had to cough up. As for Bea, she had become naturally frugal anyway.

“You sure the electricity is on?” Mae asked as they carried their first loads in from the car.

“No, but it’s supposed to be. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

Bea set her sleeping bag down and fumbled for the keys and opened the door. The lights worked.

The place smelled rather nice actually and the carpet appeared to be brand new.

“I got dibs on the bedroom!” Mae laughed, running ahead of Bea.

Bea followed her in and started switching on lights.

When she got to the kitchen she saw two small cockroaches that scurried under the refrigerator.

She sighed, but wasn’t surprised. It was probably too much to ask at the price they were paying to expect better. In fact, it was probably a good sign that there were only two. 

The bathroom was small, and the fixtures had seen better days, but all was functional.

“Come on Mae, let’s get all the stuff in first. And Mae, I saw some roaches in the kitchen. We’re going to have to keep things very clean here, okay?”

“Cockroaches? Ewww,” Mae said, scowling.

“I mean it Mae. I’ve seen your room. Your mom’s not going to be around to clean up after you.”

“But you will!” Mae laughed, heading out the door.

They grabbed more boxes and baskets and started moving in in earnest.

“Did your mom ever bitch at you?” Bea asked, setting another box down as they went back for another load.

“Of course. Don’t they all?”

“I won’t clean up after you like your mom, but I’ll bitch at you,” Bea promised.

An hour later the car was pretty much empty, and Mae and Bea sat on some folding chairs they’d brought from home.

“Place is still pretty barren,” Bea commented, noticing the echo.

“Yeah. We’ll have to find some cheap stuff at a thrift store.”

“Pickings may be slim in a college town,” Bea said pessimistically, but a look at Mae trying to be positive, and she decided to lighten up. “But we’ll manage. By the way, did you see those guys one floor up watching us?”

“Yeah. There was another guy in the building across the parking lot watching us too. And sounds like there’s a party somewhere around here.”

“Now Mae, I like parties as much as you. Maybe more. But this can’t be Party Central, right? We’re here to study.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. You don’t think my mom and dad drilled that into me already?”

“Okay. That doesn’t mean we can’t have any fun at all, but our first priority after we get settled is to try and find some jobs too, right?”

“I hope we can get something working together!” Mae said.

Bea pulled out a cigarette, but then saw Mae’s look.

“Sorry. Habit. I’ll go out on the porch.”

“Okay. I’m going to see if we get any TV.”

“I doubt it, but give it a try. Oh shit. We don’t even have Wifi here yet.”

“That’s okay. As long as we have Internet,” Mae said with a straight face.

“Mae…”

“I know, I know. Just kidding.”

Bea opened the sliding door and stepped out, closing the door behind her. The patio was barren. Somewhere in her boxes she knew she’d packed an ashtray, but didn’t feel like looking for it now. With a well practiced hand, she pulled a cigarette out and lit it in one continuous fluid motion.

“Hi,” said a voice startlingly close to her. She turned to see someone standing in a dark shadow in the patio beside her.

“You new here?” came the voice again.

“Yeah,” Bea said, trying to sound calm. “Me and my roommate are just moving in.”

“College?”

She nodded, and the voice came out from the shadows. Before her stood a boy-cat, tall and lanky with a mop of hair that covered his eyes. The black leather jacket was almost a requirement with the type. Instantly Bea wondered if he had a skateboard.

“FIgures,” he said, and produced a cigarette of his own and sat down at a small white plastic table. “Come on over. I won’t bite.”

Bea nodded and sat on the offered plastic chair.

“I look like the college type?”

The guy gestured to her ankh without answering. “What’s that mean?”

“Life.”

“Oh. Kinda cool looking. Thought it might be some weird gender symbol.”

“It’s an Ankh. You know. Egypt?”

The guy shrugged. “Okay.”

“What’s your name?” Bea asked, trying to decide if she liked this guy or hated him. He was obviously an idiot.

“Fucker,” he said at last.

“Huh?”

“It’s what they call me. I’m Fucker.”

“I’m not going to call you Fucker.”

“Yeah, I figured not. College girls. Call me Huck then. Close enough. Lock your doors and windows, College Girl. Lotta thieves around here.”

Bea inhaled deeply and sat back before exhaling through her nostrils.

“Like you?”

“Sometimes. You smoke?”

She held up the cigarette.

“Not tobacco, College Girl.”

“Oh. No.”

“Want to?”

Bea heard the TV inside her apartment. Apparently Mae had managed to get something on it. She looked back to Huck, but he was walking inside his own apartment. He came back a minute later with two cans of beer and a joint.

“You live here by yourself?” Bea asked, accepting the beer and opening it.

Huck’s face was lit by a lighter as he drew on the joint, then handed it to Bea.

It wasn’t her first time, but it was a lot nearer her first time than she cared to admit to her new neighbor. She drew in the foul-smelling smoke.

“Yeah. Sometimes my girlfriend stays with me, but she’s out of town right now.”

Bea handed the joint back and chased the smoke down with a good sized swig of beer before blowing the smoke back out.

Huck nodded, as if to acknowledge that she had at least some experience with marijuana.

“What do you do, Huck? When you’re not stealing stuff from college girls?”

“Oh, I won’t steal shit from you. I saw your car. You ain’t got shit to steal. Probably spent your life savings on tuition.”

Bea nodded. “Something like that.”

“I work on cars mostly,’ Huck said. “Mechanic, but don’t ask me to work on that shitpile you drive. Unless you want to find out how I got my tag that is.”

The pot began to hit her brain. She scowled at him. “I don’t think so.”

“How do you know? You might like it,” he said, handing the joint back to her.

Bea nodded towards her door.

“Oh. Carpet munching college girls. I get it.”

Bea pulled another drag from the joint and handed it back with a shrug.

She finally let the smoke back out, her eyes narrowing. “Are we going to have a problem here, Huck?”

“Na. I’m probably the worst guy in the complex. Everybody else around here seems to be other college rats like you two.”

“What are you doing here then?” Bea asked, the effects really starting to take hold. She downed the rest of the beer in one long gulp.

Huck gave an appreciative look. “Free room and board. Uncle is a part owner of the place. As for the carpet munching… hell, who am I to complain. If I was a girl, I’d be a lesbo too.”

Bea smiled a toothy smile. An impulse came over her and she hit the guy with all the strength she had across the jaw. He toppled off the chair onto the concrete of the patio hard.

“Are we going to have a problem, I said?” Bea asked in an incongruous sweet voice.

Huck looked at her with a smile and rubbed some blood from his upper lip.

“Oh, I like you Bea! You’re gonna be fun!”

Bea picked up the remains of the joint and handed it to him, while pulling him back to his feet.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” she said, and she was pleased to see she stood a little taller than him, though he obviously was a strong guy.

“No way, Bea. I like you!”

“Well, you’re an idiot, but I think I like you too. But lighten up with the carpet muncher talk around my roommate, okay?”

“I will, on one condition.”

Bea cocked her head. “What’s that?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to see if you would consider a condition. You did.”

“You’re not as sharp as you think you are, Fucker,” Bea said, and turned back to her own patio.

“Probably not,” he replied. “See you later Bea.”

“Thanks for the beer. And the blunt. Better go put some ice on that.”

Suddenly something pulled her arm behind her back and another arm wrapped around her neck.

“Huck. Let go and I won’t smash your gonads into a pulp with my tail, okay?” she said without a trace of fear. And she meant it. Marijuana had that effect on her. She felt the adrenaline coursing through her already, almost hoping he would give her the chance to use it.

“Okay, okay,” he said, releasing her. “Just testing.”

She brought her tail up between his legs, hard, and he crumbled to the ground.

“Me too,” she smiled, turning back to face him.

“Jeeze Bea, you’re a hard one.”

“Hey, I just squished them a little. I could do far worse. So really, no problems, right?”

He got up slowly. “No Bea. I deserved that. No problems.”

“Goodnight Fucker,” she laughed and turned to go back inside.

“Hold up,” Huck said and she turned around, wary he might try to get physical again.

“My wifi name is ‘Mother’. You can guess the password.”

Bea smiled genuinely. “Lowercase? Thanks Fucker.”

“No problem. But be careful on it anyway. Other people have the password too.”

“I’ll be sure not to make any large Wall Street trades on it.”

She slid the door closed behind her and locked it.

Mae looked up from the little TV. “What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing. I met our neighbor.”

“And?”

“He’s a fucker, but I think he’s alright.


End file.
